Nightmares Revisited
by Melissa Robertson
Summary: This is a sequel to Dead in His Tracks.
1. Chapter 1

I do not own the characters from Scarecrow & Mrs. King.

This is a sequel to Dead in His Tracks. I have lived in NW Ohio for the last 19 yrs. and have taken many vacations to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan; both places are beautiful and I do not mean to offend anyone with descriptions of these areas

Chapter 1

Fri. June 14, 1987 Café Beignet New Orleans, LA

A gray haired man in khaki pants, a polo shirt, and a fedora hat sat at a table outside of Café Beignet located on Bourbon Street, which is in the heart of the French Quarters of New Orleans. He was eating a beignet and sipping coffee, while watching people walk by, as he played the part of a German tourist. He had visited Paris before and had tasted their wonderful pastries, but these American donuts he could do without. He had been surprised then that he had liked the beignet, which is a cross between a French pastry and an American donut; but he had to admit that these golden squares of pastry dusted with powdered sugar was a delicacy and the Cajun's rich coffee was very satisfying.

He had been in the United States for over a month and was ready to get back to Germany, but he knew at the moment that was not an option. After fleeing the mountains of Virginia he and his companion (funny now he thought of him as a companion and not his minion) had made their way to New York. Bob, his American companion, had insisted that New York City was an easy place to disappear. After being there a week the enormous crowds and incessant noise was more than he could take. Bob on the other hand had enjoyed every moment of what the night life in New York City had to offer.

While he had thrown soirées and balls in his chalet in Munich, he strongly disliked clubbing. It seemed to him New York City really had no character with their skyscrapers and modern architecture. After enduring another week in New York at Bob's endless begging, Von Eiger in no uncertain terms told Bob that it was time to move on. In reality he was afraid New York City was too close to DC for comfort. He had this gut feeling that someone was watching him.

Bob suggested that they head to New Orleans, where his buddy had went fishing before. He had also told him that a man could get lost in the bayou; which after getting here and seeing the bayou, he knew a man could do more than get lost and this caused him not to trust being in the mosquito infested swamp.

While Bob spent his time fishing, he himself enjoyed the early morning time of the French Quarter. _The "Cajuns" are a unique people group_, he thought; as he watched a beautiful dark haired woman saunter by and give him a sultry smile. He took another bite of his beignet and a sip of coffee, while he seriously contemplated that it was time to move on. Even though he had grown a full beard and colored his hair completely gray he didn't want to get into too much of a routine. While it was only the middle of June, the weather was already hot and humid this far south; so he felt he needed a milder climate. He also wondered if he went north if he could sneak into Canada and get back to Germany. It was time to have a talk with Bob.

Same Day Le Pavillon Hotel New Orleans, LA

"Good news Baron, I just talked to my buddy from Ohio and he says that we can use his cabin in the U.P." an excited Bob said.

"The You Pee?" a confused Von Eiger asked.

"Yeah the U.P., never been there myself; but my buddy says it's beautiful. Some of the last wilderness in the Contiguous US he always says."

"Okay, where is this state located?"

"Oh Michigan is in the northern US, surrounded by the Great Lakes and is a neighbor to Canada;" Bob explained as if he was reciting a geography lesson, while putting lotion on his mosquito bites.

"Let's get packed up and as you American's say 'Let's hit the road!'"

"Let's get a fresh start in the morning."

"No, let's get as much time in tonight as we can because even though your country has been more beautiful than I originally thought, I really want to go home," Von Eiger explained as if he was addressing an eight year old.

"Well, there are airports around here that will take you back to Germany."

"I can't leave by plane inside the US, you idiot!"

"Why sure you can, we have international…"

Von Eiger hotly cut in, "There will be people looking for me to leave by plane, boat, or any major way out of your country."

"I don't really understand, you got in okay," a confused Bob stated dejectedly. He was really starting to enjoy the Baron personally, especially his money, and it was nice having a paid vacation for once and he was not ready for it to end anytime soon.

"When you kidnap US Federal Agents and torture them for information, the American Government usually doesn't make it easy for you to leave their country," Von Eiger calmly stated. He then continued as he moved to the hotel door and opened it, "I concur with you and let's leave at first light in the morning, but for now let's get a bite to eat and get to bed early."

* * * * * * * * Sat. June 15, 1987 Von Eiger's car Huntsville, AL

Since the Baron had made them leave at five o'clock this morning and insisted on driving first; this left Bob with plenty of time to think. He always felt like people never took him seriously while he was growing up; like they overlooked him. He didn't have an important job or a family of his own besides his mother. He thought that he had proved them wrong when he had met the Baron. His buddy, who he now figured had probably died in the cabin fire while in the Virginia Mountains; and himself, had taken a trip to the Nation's Capital. While they were there the Baron approached them to see if they wanted to make some easy money. They thought their luck had changed for once, especially Bob; _All I had to do was hold a gun and watch for anyone snooping around,_ he thought.

After fleeing the mountains of Virginia, the Baron said he needed a place to hide. Bob had always wanted to go to New York City, so he suggested there. At first he had been scared; but then it was like living in some novel with partying all night, having girls hang on him, and all the shopping for the nicest clothes. It was definitely the life! When they had to move on, Bob immediately thought of New Orleans where his fishing buddy, Dave, had told him about.

The last month had been like a paid vacation; but for the first time, Bob felt terrified. _I can't believe that I was part of kidnapping a Federal Agent!"_ he thought again. _Well you moron, you know those women didn't come there on their own,_ he chided himself inwardly. _Kidnapping Federal Agents is something the government puts people in jail for._ Bob felt like crying, but grown men don't cry! His implication in this event was starting to weigh on him like a ton of bricks. Rodney was most likely dead. _What am I going to tell his mama?_ Bob wondered anxiously. He hadn't thought of Rodney for the last month. He and Rodney had grown up together as neighbors, school mates, and fishing buddies. _I guess he was my best friend; _Bob thought and decided he needed to see his own mama.

While Bob was lost in his musings, Baron Von Eiger was having some of his own. He had been put into prison back in 1984; after the American Agent Lee Stetson had arrested him for the attempted murder of the US Goodwill Ambassador to Germany. Since he hadn't actually murdered the Ambassador, Von Eiger was paroled after two years. It was in prison that he had meet Ahab Habib, an Arab that had been put into prison for trying to buy an American Agent. Von Eiger had been shocked to learn the agent, whom Ahab had arranged to buy, was Amanda King, who was the partner of Lee Stetson codenamed Scarecrow. But Ahab's story went further. His brother, Armen, who was in a maximum security prison serving twenty years without parole in East Germany; and himself had worked together and was a source for the head of the Karbala terrorists group, Addi Birol. Birol was serving a life sentence at the same facility as Armen in East Germany. It had been through exchanged letters between the two brothers that Von Eiger and Birol had been introduced. No one would be able to connect Von Eiger and Addi Birol since the letters were all in code and addressed between the brothers.

Birol wanted his terrorist group, Karbala, to reunite since it had disbanded with his arrest. Upon the Baron's release, Birol had hired him to capture Amanda and interrogate her to see what Scarecrow knew about the ex-members of the Karbala cell. Von Eiger figured the task would be simple; but he hadn't counted on the fact that Amanda was a trained agent instead of an American housewife. _Boy she was good at her cover_, the Baron thought.

Von Eiger had not counted on his little assignment going array; and now being on the run. When Bob had mentioned that Michigan was a neighbor to Canada, Von Eiger saw a chance to get back to Germany. Once he made it to Michigan he would start formulating a plan to return home.

Glancing over at Bob, Von Eiger noticed that he had finally gone to sleep. "Good get some rest so that you can drive in a few hours," Von Eiger muttered to himself. He had been able to get word to Birol that things had not gone well, but of course he hadn't been able to receive any word back. _I never should have gotten mixed up in this,_ he thought and sighed. _I should have just gone back to my luxurious life; but no reeking revenge and havoc on Scarecrow and Mrs. King had sounded too good!_ When he got back to Germany he would get word to Birol that he wanted out.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Sun. June 16, 1987 On way home from Virginia Beach

While he was driving back to Arlington from their vacation to Virginia Beach, Lee reached over and took Amanda's hand. He glanced and saw that Philip and Jamie were asleep in the back seat. Amanda looked over and gave him a smile and he returned it with one of his own. He gave her hand a soft squeeze as he thought, _we are getting married. I know we're already married, but this time we will do it in front of our family and friends._

"Penny for your thoughts," Amanda said as she returned the hand squeeze.

"With inflation it will cost you a nickel," he replied and flashed a grin. He continued, "Just thinking about us getting married. We need to set a date. What do you think about moving? That house in Rockville is still for sale."

"We should talk with the boys about moving."

"Philip's going to be starting high school so he would be in a new building anyways. Jamie could make a new start with junior high. It would be a great growing experience for them, and in honesty I think it is something they need."

"I don't know…I just don't like the thought of them having to leave their friends behind."

"What if they are excited about moving to a new house, school, and state? What if they are excited about making new friends and starting a new beginning with school? What if they like the idea of a house with some acreage and the prospect of owning horses?"

Amanda looked at her husband while she narrowed her eyes and pursed her lips. After a moment of thought she replied, "It sounds like you already know the answer."

Lee chuckled and then stated, "We've talked some. We've taken a trip up to the house. There's a nice area over the garage that we can make into an apartment for your mother."

"You took the boys without me to see the house?" She asked in disbelief as she pulled her hand away. "Are you trying to pit the boys against me?" She continued with an incredulous tone.

"No, I wasn't trying to pit them against you. I just wanted them to know my desires of marrying you and hopefully moving. I wanted to know how they felt before we made plans. They seemed real excited about all of the change," he replied with more calm than he felt; but he knew that losing his temper would get him nowhere with his wife.

Amanda turned and looked out the side window. She knew that they had to make plans, but things were moving too fast. She quietly said, "We can stay where we are; the schools are good, the boys have their friends, and my mother knows the area."

Lee ran a frustrated hand through his hair, while he wondered how a happy moment could in a split second turn into an argument. Sighing, he took her hand in his again and started to rub his thumb across the back of it. She turned back to look at him and he softly voiced a concern that he had, "I want us to start fresh with our own home, Amanda, not one that you and Joe shared together."

"In honesty, you've spent more time in the house than Joe ever has," she gave a small smile and continued, "The boys like the Rockville house?"

It was like she had raised a truce flag and Lee returned her smile, with a larger one that showed off a dimple in his right cheek, and added, "They sure did and your mother likes the idea of an apartment of her own. I wanted to make sure that they all liked the idea before I brought it up again. I just thought if you knew your family was okay with the idea of moving then you would consider it."

Amanda turned, looked back out the window, and became lost in thought, _I know how Lee feels about Joe, and I can understand his reasoning about not wanting to live at the Maplewood home. I know this means a lot to him and if our family is excited then I should give it a chance."_

"When can all of us go see this house in Rockville?" Amanda asked as she turned back to Lee and gave him a genuine smile.

He flashed a gigantic smile that showed off both dimples, which caused Amanda to laugh at how much of a boy he looked at the moment. "I'll call the realtor first thing tomorrow and set up a showing. You are going to love this place, Amanda!" And the rest of the trip home, he told her all about the place he had fallen in love with.

Same Day 4247 Maplewood Ave. Arlington, VA

"Have you two set a date for the wedding?" a curios Dotty asked while coming into the family room to join Lee and Amanda. She sat down in the chair across from the couch that the couple shared together.

"We are working on some options," Amanda replied with a sigh.

"I like the idea of getting a new house right before we get married, and we can all start together in our new place. That would give the boys time to get settled before school starts, and we could then take our honeymoon first thing this fall," Lee quickly interjected.

"It can take a month for a closing on a house. A house, by the way, that I've never seen," Amanda said pointedly while arching one eyebrow.

"Okay why don't' we see the house together; and if we all agree on liking it we'll go from there," he said with a grin while waggling his eyebrows up and down.

She shook her head while chuckling, and said, "Sounds like a plan. What do you think, Mother?"

"I'm interested in seeing it. The boys had a lot of good things to say about the house and the area," Dotty said with excitement.

Rising off of the couch Amanda pulled Lee up and light heartily said, "Tomorrow is a work day Stetson, so it's time we say goodnight."

"Aw Amanda it's only 9:30, the night's still young," Dotty could hear Lee saying as her daughter lead him from the room.

"Maybe, but we have an early morning meeting tomorrow, and we also have to meet with Carla at the State Department."

"Don't remind me…tomorrow is soon enough to get back to reality," he said dejectedly. Walk me to my car?" he quickly added.

Dotty chuckled at their exchange, _they already sound like a married couple, she_ thought with amusement as she heard the door open and close.

Amanda walked with Lee to his car; but they lingered, neither really wanting to say goodnight. He took her in his arms, pulled her close for a hug, and lowered his head for a kiss. After a long desirous kiss that left them both breathless, they broke apart.

"I hate saying good night to you, Amanda!"

"It won't be for too much longer. We'll go look at the house and then we can plan better. We'll have to put this one up for sale…"

He put his finger over her lips before she started to fret. "Shhh…everything will work out, I promise," he said as he leaned in for another kiss, a shorter one this time. Reluctantly letting her go, he got in his car and watched as she walked back up to the front porch. She turned back toward him, smiled, and gave a final wave good-bye. He returned the wave, started his corvette, and headed to his lonely apartment.

Amanda opened the front door and locked it behind her. She walked to the kitchen, where she found her mother making her nightly glass of milk with a drop of Galliano in it.

"I'm headed up to bed, dear. I think I'll read for a while," Dotty said as she made her way over and kissed Amanda on the cheek. She continued in a loving tone, "I'm very happy for you and Lee. Don't worry; everything will work out in the end. Just enjoy every moment of this stage."

"Thank you, Mother," Amanda said sincerely and in return kissed her mother's cheek.

"Good night, dear."

"Good night, mother. I'll lock things up down here."

After checking the doors and windows, she made her way up to Philip and Jamie's room. She knocked on the door and waited for a "come in" before she entered. Looking around she noticed that the boys had actually put their things away from vacation.

"Looks good in here, fellas," She said with surprise in her voice as she pulled the desk chair out to sit in.

"When are you and Lee getting married, mom?" an excited Philip asked.

"We haven't pin-pointed an exact date yet. We all are going to look at the house in Rockville sometime this week. If we all agree we like it, we'll go from there."

"You'll like it mom! It's a huge house with lots of land and a barn!" an equally excited Jamie said.

"The garage is unattached and we could make an apartment for Grandma," an exuberant Philip chimed in.

For the next hour, Philip and Jamie, told their mother about the trip Lee had taken them on to Rockville. Not only had he shown them the house, but he had also shown them the area parks and schools. Amanda had to smile; Lee did know her very well because with her mother and boys' excitement she couldn't wait to see the house!


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Mon. June 17, 1987 The Agency Georgetown, MD 

As Lee opened the door to Conference Room 2, he allowed Amanda to enter before him; while all eyes turned to take in the couple who had been the talk around the water cooler for the last year, especially for this last month. To the regret of most of the steno pool, the talk was that "The Great Scarecrow" would take the plunge and ask his partner to marry him. In reality, most everyone knew it had been more than two years since Scarecrow had dated anyone from work, let alone make eye with any other woman. It had been noted that Scarecrow was out of the social scene, except when work related, and then it seemed he was always accompanied by his partner. Even though they tried to conceal their feelings for each other, most everyone knew they only had eyes for each other. It seemed as if Scarecrow's reputation of love and leave them was a thing of the past.

"Glad to see you two made it back from your vacation," Billy greeted the couple with a grin.

"Looks like the sun agreed with you," the couple was surprised that Francine made the comment in a civil tone.

"Thank you Sir, Francine. Yes we had a wonderful time," Amanda replied cheerfully, as Lee pulled a chair out for her to set down in; while everyone else was trying to get a glimpse of her left hand that was hidden by her purse. After Amanda was seated, Lee took the chair next to her, and draped his arm over the back her chair.

"Let's begin this meeting by Francine giving us an update on Senator Fleming."

Francine rose, turned off the light, and clicked on the projector which brought the picture of the Senator to life. She began her briefing by giving the sordid details of the Senator's love life. While she droned on about the Senator, Lee started to day dream about showing his wife the house in Rockville. _I know she is going to love the place. I need to call the realtor after this meeting, h_e was thinking when he felt a hand on his shoulder and a voice calling his name.

He quickly looked around to see everyone in the room looking at him. He knew he was blushing, so he cleared his throat, and sat up straighter in his chair.

"File, Scarecrow!"

"Huh," a confused Lee replied.

"Take a file, Scarecrow, and then pass them over! By the way vacation is over!" an annoyed Duffy said.

Lee sheepishly took a file and handed the pile to a grinning Amanda. How she could be so alert during some of these briefings, were beyond him. In actuality, he had become too reliant on Amanda to pay attention and to keep him straight.

"You each have a file of a past assailant. Your job is to make contact with the prison system they are in and make sure they are still there," Billy began. He brought them up to date on the Vice-President's China trip, and he reminded them that starting aphetically their yearly physicals and hand to hand assessments would start in September and run through the end of the year.

"Okay people, you have work to do. Scarecrow, Amanda I would like to see you in my office," with that Billy was finished.

The room started to clear out; while agents shared with each other the prisoner they had to follow up on. Francine made her way over to the couple and snidely asked, "Anything news worthy happen on your vacation?" She paused a second and then quickly added, "Wait a minute it was probably boring as all get out with a housewife and her two sons along." Amanda rolled her eyes at this statement.

Billy stood at the door waiting for the trio, but before Lee could make a comeback; he barked, "My office, you three."

Francine, Lee, and Amanda followed Billy to his office. As Billy made his way behind his desk; Francine and Amanda each took a chair in front of him, while Lee leaned against the window which looked out into the bullpen. Billy opened a file and stared at it with a grim look on his face; after a moment he looked up into the expectant faces of his top agents.

"Our agency in New York spotted Von Eiger there a couple of weeks ago, but he escaped before they could make a move. He was then spotted in New Orleans with gray hair and a full beard." Billy handed over the picture to Amanda and Francine; while Lee moved over behind them to look at the picture.

"It definitely looks like him," Francine commented before completely handing the picture to Lee.

"Don't tell me, New Orleans let him get away!" An annoyed Lee snapped as he threw the picture onto Billy's desk.

"Seems like he is one step ahead of us," a frustrated Billy said. Looking to Lee he asked "Scarecrow, Didn't he have someone else with him?"

"He had three other men with him; two of which died in the fire and the third one got away with him. Do we know if he's still with Von Eiger or where he's from?"

"We have some surveillance pictures that we could look through to see if he has a consistent companion in them."

"I'll get on that, Sir!" Amanda reached out to accept the pictures from Billy.

As she reached out her hands, Francine noticed the sparkling diamond on the ring finger of her left hand. Francine reached over, took hold of her hand, and just stared; while Billy got up from his desk and made his way around to the engaged couple.

"Congratulations you two! When is the big day?" an overjoyed Billy asked with a huge smile on his face.

"We haven't set a date yet, Billy. We have a few details to work out."

"Don't wait too long. Everything will sort itself out in the end," he said in a fatherly sounding voice.

"You actually got engaged!" Francine replied in disbelief. "I know I shouldn't be surprised…I just never thought anyone could…" she looked at Amanda and then turned to look at Lee, "that you would be the marrying kind." Francine rose from the desk, came over to Lee and poked him in the chest while she continued, "If you ever hurt her, Scarecrow, you'll have me to answer to!" After saying this she moved to the door, turned back with a smile, and happily expressed, "Congratulations!" and with that she was out the door.

"I give it an hour to get around the Agency," Billy said with a laugh.

Amanda and Lee just looked at each other and smiled. Billy gave Amanda a hug and slapped Lee on the back while he said with a huge smile on his face, "Congratulations!" He continued, "I knew we had a good thing when I paired you two up years ago!" Billy started walking back around to his desk, while the couple started out his office door.

Amanda said before leaving, "Thank you, Sir!" As they left Billy's office, Lee's hand found its custom spot on the small of his wife's back while he guided her through the bullpen. All eyes were watching them as they made their way to the doors, which the MPs opened for them to pass through. After gaining entrance to the hallway they paused and Amanda commented, "I'll take these over to Ernie to see if he can help me get through them faster."

"Okay, I'll head on up to the Q-Bureau. I'll call the realtor, check on those security details for the Prime-Minister of Pakistan's visit next week, and remember we have a meeting with State at eleven o'clock this morning.

"I'll be up by ten-thirty."

The couple then headed off in opposite directions.

Amanda and Ernie had spent the last hour going over the surveillance pictures they had received from New York and New Orleans.

"It's hard to think they have these many pictures and they didn't catch the guy!"

"He did change his appearance a little for New York, and he sported quite a different look for New Orleans; so it probably took them a while to confirm it was Von Eiger before they went after him, but by then it was too late because he had moved on." She explained trying not to make the agencies in New York and New Orleans look incompetent.

"Look I think this guy is the same in half of these pictures," exclaimed an excited Ernie.

Amanda picked up two of the pictures to compare and the second man did look the same in each. "Do you have all the photos with this guy in them," asked an equally excited Amanda.

"They're right here. I'll see if this guy is in them and if we can get an ID on John Doe."

"Okay thanks, Ernie. If you find out anything call the Q-Bureau. We do have a meeting with State at eleven; it should take about an hour or so. We should be back no later than two," She stated and moved to the door.

"Will do Mrs. King," Ernie replied. As she left, he already had his head buried into the surveillance photos.

Q-Bureau

It had been a busy first day back to work. While Amanda had been with Ernie, Lee had set up an appointment with the realtor for Tuesday evening to see the house in Rockville, and he had gone through the security folders for the Prime Minister's visit. They had met with Carla at the State Department to get the Prime Minister's itinerary worked out with security detail. By the time they had finished it was one o'clock, and they had gotten a bite to eat at a deli on the corner before heading back to the Agency.

They had been back in the Q-Bureau for a couple of hours now working on which agents would cover the Prime Minister's schedule; when there was a knock on the door. Before they could say "come in" the door opened, and Ernie stepped through. He threw the surveillance pictures on Amanda's desk and moved to the small fridge that the couple had in their office. He took a plate from the top of the fridge as he opened its door to peer inside. After a moment he emerged with turkey, cheese, mayo, mustard, and bread.

"You don't have any pickles?" he asked as he looked between Lee and Amanda.

"Did you come up here with some useful information or just to get a free lunch?" Lee barked.

"Boy you would think that after a week's vacation you would be in a better mood, Scarecrow," Ernie replied with mock hurt in his voice.

"Was John Doe consistent in the photos, Ernie?" Amanda interjected to deflect any rising contention between the two.

"He sure was Mrs. King," He replied around a mouth full of food.

"I looked him up in our Federal database but there was no match; so I branched out to our major agencies in the East, but still there was no match." It was clear that Ernie was enjoying this moment of unveiling.

"Are you getting anywhere here, Ernie, or are you going to keep stringing us along?" Lee snapped.

Ernie quickly looked around at Lee, scowled, and snapped, "Well Mrs. King seemed like she was enjoying it. You don't know what it's like, Scarecrow, being stuck in a room underground looking at surveillance pictures all day. You have a nice window to let in the daylight up here!"

"It's okay, Ernie, you can finish telling me in detail the information," Amanda interjected soothingly. With her eyebrows raised, she looked pointedly at her partner and continued, "Mr. Stetson won't interrupt again because if he doesn't want to hear what you have to share then he can leave!"

Lee threw up his hands in mock surrender and quickly replied, "Fine, fine, not another word from me. By all means Ernie, continue!" Since the couple knew this was going to be a lengthy monologue; they made themselves comfortable as Ernie started. While Lee leaned back in his chair and brought his legs up to rest on his desk and he crossed his arms behind his head to rest it against the wall; Amanda folded her hands on her desk and gave the speaker her undivided attention.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Mon. June 17, 198 Bob's House Wauseon, Ohio 

Even though Bob knew it was temporary, it sure felt good to be home. They had arrived late last night and went to bed shortly after their arrival. His mom was so relieved with seeing her son that she showered him with hugs and kisses. She had asked no questions about where he had been or who the stranger he had brought home was.

He had awoken around six o'clock this morning to the smell of bacon frying and freshly brewed coffee. He had immediately gotten his clothes on and went to the barn to complete the farm chores. He felt ashamed that he had left these chores for his mom to do alone; being his father had died five years earlier.

In reality, Bob knew his older brother John would have probably came and took care of the chores, because that's what the responsible older brother would have done. John was the oldest of twelve and Bob was the youngest. Since their mother was older with his pregnancy, it had been marked with complications. Bob had been born early after a hard delivery, which left him fighting for his life. John had constantly told him that his premature birth had caused their mother to favor him and the rest of the family to spoil him. Bob knew he would have to prepare himself for the speech he would receive from his brother. Since he still lived with her, he knew John would remind him that their mother depended on him. So he knew his brother was not going to be pleased when he had to leave; probably for good this time! _Well, John is just going to have to deal with it_, Bob thought to himself, a_fter all I am a grown man and I have my own life now._

The last hour, had been spent at his mom's kitchen table eating eggs, bacon, oatmeal, fried apples, orange juice, and homemade biscuits; ah, nothing tasted better than mom's homemade fare. His mom told him about Sarah Grieser getting engaged to Samuel Nofiziger; they planned on getting married this Christmas. While Bob ate until he thought he was going to burst a button on his shirt, his mom chattered away about more local news.

His mom waited until he had pushed his plate away to pour him a cup of coffee. Taking a sip Bob sighed and leaned back in his chair. He was truly going to miss home! His mom poured herself a cup and sat back down at the table with her son.

"Where have you been, son? I've been so worried about you. Why didn't you call? Do you know where Rodney is? Who is this guy you brought home with you?" his mom asked rapid fire.

"You know that Rodney and I went to visit D.C. That is where we met Baron Von Eiger, and he hired us to help him with something; he paid us good money! Somehow things went crazy. The Baron said that we needed to go into hiding. I'm not really sure what happened to Rodney; he might even be dead. At first we went to New York for a couple of weeks, but then the Baron said we needed to move again. From New York we went to New Orleans for a couple more weeks. Eventually the Baron said we needed to move yet again; and this time he wanted some remote area so I gave Dave a call about his Cabin."

"Bob, it sounds like this Baron guy is into something illegal! You need to drop him like a hot potato! You need to go to the police!" his almost hysterical mom said.

"I can't do that, I'll go to jail!"

"Probably only for a little while, it's not like you killed anybody!" his mom tried saying with reasoning in her voice. She stopped for a moment as if something dawned on her, "Did you say Rodney is dead? You didn't, did you?" she finished in a tremulous voice.

"No, I didn't! I don't want to tell too much, the less you know is probably better. I've probably already said too much. Once the Baron has eaten breakfast we will move on."

"On to Where! Listen just stay a few days and we can work things out. John will know what to do!" his mom was starting to get hysterical now.

"I don't want John; I can figure it out on my own!" Bob said in an angry tone, a tone that his mom had never heard from him. He looked and saw the hurt on his mom's face and immediately felt remorse. Sitting down again he took her hand in his and softly said, "I'm sorry, mom!" continuing on he quickly added, "I don't know for sure all of the details of what happened. I just needed to stand guard outside. After a few days a man, was brought to the cabin and a day later two women were brought to the same cabin. A couple more days went by, when another man shows up, and that is when things went crazy. I'm told to start a fire under the cabin, the Baron and I high tail it out of there. I'm not sure, but Rodney may have died in the fire. Honest, that's all I know!"

"Go to the police!"

"Go to the police with what? What have you done now, Bob?" an irate John said.

"John, talk some sense into your brother. Tell him that if he goes to the police they will help him!"

"First of all, I don't know what is going on. Secondly, I don't know what he's done." an exasperated John said.

It was during this heated debate that the Baron woke. He crept to the top of the stairs to hear what was going on. When he heard them talking about going to the police the Baron knew we had to get out of there. He slowly and silently crept back to his room to dress. He quickly opened the bedroom window and carefully climbed through. Once he was on the roof, he moved cautiously and quickly to the front of the house where the car was parked. Thankfully the porch roof was only a few feet off of the ground. He jumped as quietly as he could on to the porch's roof and down to the ground. Once his feet hit the ground, he ran as fast as he could to the car, threw open the driver's door and climbed in, started it and was out of the drive before Bob and his family knew what was going on. Since he had looked at the map last night, he turned the car to the north because he knew Michigan was in that direction.

Tues. June 18 Maximum Security Prison East Germany

Addi Biro sat in his cell waiting to be escorted to breakfast. Meals and the exercise yard was the only time he got to be with his fellow prisoners; not that he really cared to be with people, but that is when he could take care of business. He had met several "trusted" prisoners, who could carry on his work with Karbala. At the moment it was thought that Karbala had disbanded, when in reality they were still fully functional, just waiting for him to tell them when and where to strike. He was getting ready for them to strike in West Germany and in the United States.

"Birol," he heard his name being barked, so he went to wait at his cell door. The door was opened by a burly man in a Stasis' uniform. Birol walked through the door way and down the long corridor to wait for the next door to be unlocked and opened. This time when the door was opened, he was forced to stop so he could be checked with a scanning device, which ensured he had no weapons. He felt this scan was ridiculous since he was scanned each time he entered back to his cell from meals or exercising.

Finally obtaining his admittance to the cafeteria, he got in line to wait for his slop, or what they called food. He spotted Armen Habib in another line and quietly acknowledged Armen's smile. _Good, _thought Birol, "_he has some information._ As both Armen and Birol made their way to opposite tables they passed and Birol was slipped a letter. He quickly slipped the letter into his pocket to read later. In the exercise yard he would return his reply back to Armen.

Birol ate his food with indifference and made no conversation with any man next to him, for it was rarely a day that he spoke to anyone. After having to sit and listen to the incessant noise around him, it was time to go back to his cell.

Back in his cell, he decoded the letter to find the incompetent Von Eiger had not fulfilled his mission and that he was stuck in the United States. Birol knew Stetson would not see a connection between him and Von Eiger. Birol smiled and thought, _Stetson will be resting easy thinking Karbala has disbanded and that he, Birol, was safely behind bars, _he started laughing and said out loud, "Won't Stetson be surprised to find out Karbala is alive and well." He had plotted a way out of this prison; and now was the time to put his plan into action.

Birol sat down to get his coded letters written, which would be sent to the Karbala group, who would set some terrorists attacks into motion. He would slip these letters back to Armen later today in the exercise yard. Birol leaned back on his cot, folded his arms satisfactorily behind his head, and smiled at the ceiling. In less than two weeks he would be out of here!


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Tues. June 18, 1987 Looking at house Rockville, MD 

Lee and Amanda had gotten off at four o'clock that afternoon to go home and pick up the boys and Dotty. To be able to get off early they had went to work at six o'clock that morning and had spent their lunch, arranging more of the schedule for the Prime Minister's visit. Today they had assigned the security detail schedule to their fellow agents. Tomorrow they would go to the hotel where the reception was to take place and work on securing the ballroom and building.

They had given Billy the information of John Doe being identified as Bob Yoder from Ohio. It seemed, Bob, had been free with this information at the night clubs in New York City, where several waitresses, at different clubs, had confirmed he told them he was from Ohio. The investigation in New Orleans also confirmed Bob was from Ohio. Billy had handed off to Francine the task of figuring out exactly where in Ohio, Bob, was from.

They turned into a housing development off of 586 in Rockville, Maryland. There were only a handful of houses in this area as they were on three acre lots. "Oh Lee it is just beautiful!" Amanda exclaimed as they drove up to the house. He looked over at his wife and gave her one of his Stetson's smiles.

After winding up the drive, the Wagoneer came to a stop as the back doors flew open and the boys jumped out. "Isn't this place cool mom?" both boys exclaimed as they ran to climb a nearby tree. Lee opened the back passenger door for his mother in law to get out and he then went around opening the door for Amanda.

The three of them stood there taking in the yard and watching the boys run around. The two story cedar sided house was located with two acres in front and a wooded acre behind it. Located off the right side of the house was a huge unattached garage, also made with cedar wood and with what looked like an enormous attic. Amanda glanced and saw her mother smiling while she took in the size. She could only imagine what was going through her mother's mind. In front of the garage and even more to its right sat a barn with cedar siding and a corral behind it. Turning around Amanda took in the house; it was quite a bit larger than the Maplewood Avenue house. The covered front porch was gorgeous as it ran the full length of the house, where sat a flower bed in front of it, and flowerbeds on either side of the walk.

The door to the house opened and out stepped Augie Swann, "Lee my man, coming back again to see the house!" he walked over and shook Lee's hand, then turned and continued, "Mrs. King, I always figured there was something between you two. Did you bring those fine young men with you again?" Augie never waited for a reply, but moved back towards the house, "If you will follow me I'll show you this fine house."

Amanda tuned to Lee, smirked, and said, "Augie!"

Lee took Amanda by the shoulders and hugged her close as he whispered, "It's okay; he just got his realtor's license. I thought we could help him out. You'll see it'll turn out okay." He kissed her on the temple, took her by the hand, and called out, "Augie wait up!"

As Amanda and Lee hurried after Augie, Dotty was left in the yard by herself wondering who this character was. _Was he one of Lee's contacts? Are all of the people her daughter and future son in law knew like this? _She wondered_. _She decided she would go and check out the house too.

The bottom level of the house held a spacious kitchen and dining room, a den, and an office, a full bath, and a huge family room. There was also a utility room where the washer and dryer would be located. The upstairs held four large bedrooms, one of which was a master bedroom with a large attached bathroom. The bathroom had a two sink vanity, a large two person shower, and a Jacuzzi tub. In the master bedroom was a huge walk in closet and a separate sitting room that was large enough for a love seat. The three large windows let in plenty of sunlight. One window looked out on the side yard, where the other two looked out onto the spacious patio in the backyard and the woods. The other three bedrooms had windows facing the front of the house with a shared bathroom. The house also had a basement which could be finished if desired.

"Lee, it is just lovely!"

"Amanda look at the view from this window!"

"Mother, look at how this room is laid out, and this kitchen just look at this kitchen!"

"Amanda those bedrooms are huge!"

Lee couldn't help smiling listening to his wife and mother in law's exchanges.

"Ladies, why don't we go check out the garage's attic where Dotty can have her own apartment." He excitedly added.

"Oh, Lee, are you sure? I don't need to come here. I could get a place in Arlington." Dotty quickly said.

"Nonsense, you're coming with us," both Lee and Amanda said together.

"Now come on before I bust," Lee said while he took Amanda by the hand and put his other arm around Dotty. He then proceeded to escort them out the door.

Thankfully, Augie had let them view the house alone. He had found Philip and Jamie in the barn so he had joined them there.

Lee, Amanda, and Dotty walked into the side door of the garage and to the left saw the steps for the attic. Lee turned on the light at the bottom of the steps that illuminated the stairwell. He ascended first, while Amanda allowed her mother to proceed before her. The three stood at the top of the staircase looking at the empty space before them.

"It's huge!" Dotty spoke with excitement.

"We can add windows and a door for a fire escape." Lee added with his own excitement.

Amanda just stood taking in the exchange of her husband and mother. They both were as excited as could be. She could hear Lee suggesting the rooms that his mother in law might like in her apartment.

"Lee this is too good to be true," Amanda could hear her mother say excitedly.

She could hear her husband reply by saying, "I had a friend do some preliminary blue print drawings to give us some ideas. I'll get them from him and we can go from there."

Amanda hated to rain on their parade, but someone needed to be the voice of reason, "Before the two of you get carried away, I think that we need to think about finances first."

"You're right dear. I'll be patient and be happy with whatever you and Lee decide," Dotty said as she patted her daughter on the cheek.

Lee went over, put his arm around Amanda, and added, "Don't worry honey everything will work out."

"Mom! Lee! Grandma!" the adults could hear the boys calling.

"Up here, fellas," Amanda called down to her sons.

The adults could hear the boys tramping up the stairs. The two boys finally made their way to the top where they both exclaimed with awe, "Wow! It's huge!" they then added with excitement, "Is this going to be your new apartment, Grandma?"

All Amanda could do was roll her eyes and sigh, which brought a hearty laugh from her husband.

Same Night 4247 Maplewood Ave. Arlington, VA

While Lee and Amanda was at the kitchen table going over their finances, Philip and Jamie were in the family room watching a movie and Dotty was in the kitchen heating up water for tea. She made three cups and set them on a tray with some zucchini bread she had made earlier in the day. She went over to the table and joined the couple.

"Oh, thank you mother!"

Lee picked up a piece of bread and bit into it declaring, "Boy Dotty, this is wonderful!"

Dotty chuckled while she replied, "Lee Stetson, I think you like to eat anything!" she then continued, "Are you two getting things figured out?"

"Some Mother," Amanda said anxiously.

"Amanda, everything's going to be fine," Lee said reassuringly.

"That's what you keep saying, but I'm not so sure!"

"Okay, let's start with how much do you still owe on this house?" he asked as he picked up a pencil and some paper.

"$50,000"

"And the loan you took out a couple of years ago?"

"$1,500" she stated as he wrote them down.

"I think that I have a buyer for the house."

"You do!" both an astonished Amanda and Dotty declared.

Lee lowered his voice, glanced to make sure Philip and Jamie were still enthralled with their movie, and said in a conspiratorial tone, "The Agency."

Amanda raised her eyebrow and mouthed, "The Agency?"

Lee continued, "I overheard that they were looking for another safe house in this area. I looked into it and if you're interested they'll buy this place for $80,000."

"That would give us close to $30,000 to use as a down payment."

"I don't think our payments would be anything over $1,500 and that's what I currently pay for rent."

"What!?" both Amanda and Dotty said together in an incredulous voice.

"Lee, I never knew you spent that much on rent. Now I feel really bad about you giving…" Amanda started and then faded before she divulged more information about her and Lee's relationship to her mother.

Lee reached over and took her hand knowing what she was referring to. Shortly after their return from California, he had explained to her that even though no one else knew what his rightful role in the family was, he wanted to be a financial supporter. He reasoned he would be spending most of his time at the Maplewood house getting to know his new family better, therefore most meals would be with them. In no uncertain terms and with a few choice swear words, he had made it very clear "his wife" would not be scraping by and using Child Support to make ends meet. The Child Support was to be sorely used on the boys the way it was intended.

"Besides, my pay will go up once we get married," Lee added with a wink and a grin to his wife. He also added, "I also have a substantial trust fund set up for me by my parents that I've never touched. We should have plenty."

"We can really afford this fabulous house!?" Amanda asked with hope in her voice.

"We sure can and I'll give Augie a call in the morning with our offer," he quickly added with a pleased smile.

"Do you know when you will get married?" asked an anxious Dotty; what she thought was the most important question.

"How about the last Saturday in July," Lee offered.

Amanda got up to get the calendar, and as she moved back to the table she turned to July. "That would be the 28th," she looked at Lee, smiled, and stated, "It sounds like a plan."

Dotty took the calendar from her daughter, examined it, and expressed in disbelief, "But that's only a little over five weeks! How will you invite people in time? How will we get everything ready for the wedding plus move?"

"As long as you, the boys, and a few close friends are there; that's all we care about," Lee declared.

Dotty picked up her own pencil and paper while saying; "Okay, let's start making some wedding plans."

Both Lee and Amanda sighed and stated together, "Mother, this is my second marriage…Dotty I don't need anything big."

Dotty glanced up at the couple and explained, "Nonsense, Amanda, this is Lee's first wedding; and he deserves something to remember. Besides what groom doesn't want to see his bride walk down the aisle."

Both Lee and Amanda shrugged while they reluctantly sat down to hash threw wedding details.

Wed. June 19, 1987 Q-Bureau

Amanda tried stretching out the kinks in her back while stifling a yawn. Her mother had kept her up making wedding plans long after Lee had left. It seemed that her mother wanted another huge affair. Amanda knew that whether her mother liked it or not the wedding would be toned down considerably, the excuse she planned on using was the cost of a new house and apartment.

Lee was in a security advisor meeting along with Dr. Smyth and Mr. Melrose at the White House. Once a month, Lee had to attend the briefings as head of the every growing Q-Bureau, which was one of his least favorite obligations. There was talk the White House wanted a couple more agents moved to this section in the near future; something she knew her husband would not be thrilled with.

Lee had called Augie at eight this morning to put an offer on the house. He then called Fritz the Cat for a copy of the blue prints for her mother's apartment. He also got in touch with the Agency about buying her house. She knew she should be used to things moving fast by now, but she wasn't always comfortable with her personal life being in such upheaval.

She jumped when the phone rang, but reached for the ringing phone and said, "Hello!" after putting it to her ear. "No, Augie, Lee isn't here. They did! Oh, that's great! We'll be down sometime after he gets back to sign the paper work. Okay, thanks. Bye." She knew Lee was going to be so excited. Now they also needed to go down to the Agency's Credit Union to get the mortgage started.

Amanda got back to work on the finishing touches of the security detail for the Prime Minister's visit. She was just completing the final security draft when there was a knock on the door. "Come in," she called.

The door opened and Francine came into the room. "Oh, I was hoping that I would catch you and Lee together."

Amanda glanced at the clock to see that it was almost noon. "Yeah, I thought he would have been back by now. Hope that doesn't mean there is a lot of security unrest around the world."

"I guess you could look at it as job security," Francine said while laughing at her own joke. Amanda just smiled with raised eyebrows.

"I found out Bob Yoder is from a little town in North West Ohio called Wauseon. He served in the Army for four years at Fort Bragg in North Carolina. Other than that he has always lived in Ohio." Francine said with boredom. She then expressed what she was thinking, "Ohio, it just sounds so boring. I wonder what they do there for fun…cow tipping."

Amanda couldn't help laughing at Francine's expressions and sarcasm.

"I guess you will have a chance to find out," a familiar voice said; which caused Francine to quickly turn around and see Billy standing in the door.

"Now, Billy…I just couldn't possibly…Amanda here would be better…"Francine stammered, but knew that she wouldn't be able to get out of the task.

"I've got you booked for this afternoon on a three o'clock flight into Detroit, Michigan. You will then get chartered to Toledo, Ohio. Wauseon is a thirty minute drive west from there. You have a reservation for the Chief Motel located in Wauseon. Here are your directions and tickets," Billy said with a smile. He continued, "Oh and Francine I don't think you will have to worry about any fancy wardrobe," which caused him to break out into a belly laugh at Francine's expense. He seriously added, "I want you to bring Yoder back here as soon as possible!" Billy then turned and walked out the door.

Francine quickly started after her boss, "Now Billy, Duffy would be better suitable," she tried arguing again.

As Lee passed them on the stairwell Francine was still trying to talk Billy into sending someone else, but laughter was the only response she got from her supervisor.

Lee walked into the Q-Bureau and asked, "What's with Francine?"

Amanda stated with disinterest, "Oh she found out Bob Yoder is from a rural town in Ohio, and Billy is sending her to bring him in," She then continued with excitement, "Augie called; the owner's accepted our offer."

"Wooohooo!" Lee shouted and pulled Amanda out of her chair to spin her around. "I'm late because I stopped to get those blue prints," he said while holding them up for Amanda to see. "I also found out that the Agency will buy your house,' he said with a grin while waggling his eyebrows. "Looks like things are falling into place for once, Mrs. Stetson!" Lee added, while leaning in to get a kiss.

"How about we go get lunch and afterward we can stop by Augie's and the Credit Union," Amanda suggested.

"Okay, let's get out of here!" Lee quickly agreed and ushered Amanda out of the door.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Thur. June 20, 1987 Brockway Inn Copper Harbor, MI

Baron Von Eiger sat sipping coffee and eating a bagel on the balcony that was just off his hotel room, which overlooked Lake Superior. He had fled to Michigan three days ago in hopes of getting into Canada. He had tried near a city named Detroit, but the border guard wouldn't let him through without a birth certificate; and he was hesitant to use his passport because the US Government probably alerted the borders. This had led him to looking at the map again. He tried to cross at Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan; but the same problem occurred. Since he was up in this wilderness he figured he might as well stay, but what was he going to do?

As he travelled farther west into what was called the Upper Peninsula, he heard story after story about Lake Superior. Stories about how the lake was the largest and deepest of all the Great Lakes, which caused it to be extremely cold and to have dangerous storms. The most interesting story of all was how the Lake rarely gave up its dead. These stories gave the Baron an idea; an idea that just might work.

After finishing his breakfast, he quickly showered and dressed to leave his motel. He walked down to the main street of the quaint town looking for a shop that sold wet suits. He finally found a boat, fishing, and accessory shop called Hal's One Stop. He opened the door to go in and was greeted by a friendly, "Hello, may I help you?"

"I hope so," He said while flashing a smile and continued, "I'm not from around here. I've heard Lake Superior can be extremely cold, so I'm wondering if anywhere sells wet suits."

"We have a few here in our shop, sir. If you will follow me," the clerk said in a friendly tone.

He followed the pretty young clerk to the left side of the small shop where about five wet suits were displayed. She sized him up and then looked closely at the suits. She finally chose one and handed it to him while she explained, "This is probably the closest one that will fit; you want it to be snug. Feel free to try it on in the back where there's a mirror." He headed through the curtains which lead to a back storage room. He quickly changed and checked himself out in the mirror; he smiled as it looked like the suit would do.

After changing back into his clothes, he made his way back up front to pay. While he had been in the back, several people had come into the shop so he had to wait in line. Those in line tried to engage him into conversation, but he would only reply with short answers. Thankfully, it was finally his turn because the shop was starting to become really busy with the fishing regulars getting their accessories and bait.

As the clerk finished with the Baron they said their final good-byes and he headed for the exit. He overheard the other customer's whispered conversations as he left. "He's not very friendly. He's not from around here, you know. I think his accent is French, Italian, or German. Well that explains it, he's a foreigner." He knew that he had been here long enough. If his plan worked he would be in Canada by this afternoon.

Boat Marina

"We rent boats by the hour, half a day, or for a full day," explained the boat worker at Pete's Fleet.

"I'll rent it for the day."

"Follow me to the dock and I'll get you all set up."

The Baron and the worker made their way to the boats. He was handed a life jacket as they climbed into the boat.

"Now this is where you turn the boat on at, this lever is the throttle. The wheel is just like in a car, turn it left to go left and right to go right. The middle of the lake is where you get into Canadian waters. You can be pulled over if you do not have a birth certificate of passport. Always wear your life jacket; any questions?"

"No, I think I understand."

"Have fun and enjoy your day," the worker replied as he got out of the boat.

The Baron started the engine and made his way out of the marina. As soon as he saw the worker head back into the store he took the life jacket off and threw it in the boat. He made his way toward the Canadian shore as best as he figured from looking at the map.

After an hour of boating the Baron saw a shore line ahead. He slowed the boat and turned it back toward the US; as he revved the throttle, he jumped from the side of the boat. He swam the 500 yards to the Canadian shore and quickly moved into the underbrush. He pulled the water proof bag up next to him. This bag had a change of clothes, his money, passport, and some food. He pulled out his dry clothes and quickly changed out of the wet ones. He hung them up on some bushes to dry. He threw the wet suit into some underbrush and bit into an apple.

Canadian Woods

The Baron had waited until his clothes where dry to set off into the woods, but he wasn't exactly sure where he was. If he came across someone he would just say he had been camping and got lost. Actually, he had been thinking he would like to find someone to show him out of this blasted wilderness, when he heard a shot ring out. Had the US Government sent men after him already? Where could he go? He then heard dogs and men yelling in excitement, "You got him! That was a clean shot. Looks like the work with your dogs have paid off." The Baron sighed with relief, hunters, the men were only hunters.

He quickly made his way over to the group. He knew he was making a lot of noise coming through the underbrush, but he saw his rescue from this non-civilization. As he came crashing into the clearing, all of the hunters were looking at him while the dogs were poised waiting for a command of attack from their owners.

"I'm, uh, sorry. I have been camping…I was out on a boat fishing when I fell over…I got lost in the woods…"the Baron stammered.

The hunters started laughing and said, "It's okay we'll show you out of here tomorrow. Let's collect our game and we'll head back to camp." The hunters started collecting their fowl and headed north to their campsite.

Once back to camp the hunters set about cleaning their game, starting a cooking fire, and making rotisserie sticks. Once they had the meal over the fire, the hunters relaxed around the camp by reliving their hunt while they feed their dogs.

The Baron just quietly listened to their hunting and dog stories. After a while, his stomach started to growl from the delicious smell of roasting ducks. Finally, one of the hunters started handing out plates and silverware. Another one was carving the ducks and handing out generous portions of the delicacy. Quickly the conversation died as everyone was devouring the meal.

Thur. June 20, 1987 Chief Motel Wauseon, OH

Francine just couldn't believe her luck; Wauseon was worse than she feared. There were corn fields on every side of the town. The day before, she had driven all through the town looking for a hotel, and realized she was stuck with the run down motel Billy had made reservations at. After reluctantly getting a room, she carried her three suitcases, overnight bag, and cosmetic case in all by herself. Billy had laughed at her predicament when she had called to check in. He had laughed even harder when she had expressed her thoughts out loud, "Boy this town could use some class. They don't even have bellhops around here and I had to carry in my own luggage!"

Now it was the next morning and she wasn't sure what she was going to do for breakfast in this po dunk town. She headed over to the reception office to ask about breakfast. The morning clerk told her that there was a restaurant out on State Route 108 or there were two restaurants downtown. She thought that town might be safer. She headed to where the downtown area was. She saw the first restaurant named, Sterlings, and she drove on pass. She then came to the second one named, Partners, which looked like a greasy spoon. "I guess it's back to Sterlings," she muttered to herself.

After only coffee and a blueberry muffin she paid her bill and asked the waitress for directions to 16788 County Road F. The waitress told her to make a right at the next light on to Route 2. She was to go about a mile and a half and make a right at the S curves onto County Road 16. After going about a mile north, there would be a stop sign, where she was to turn left onto County Road F. She was told the house should be in this block, closer to County Road 17. As Francine drove closer to the intersection of F and 17, she saw the numbers posted on a pole and made a right turn into the driveway.

The house was a large two story farm house with two, no three large picture windows across the front. Glancing around the yard it was obvious Mrs. Yoder enjoyed flower gardening. She also saw to the left of the house was a pond, which had a fountain spouting up in the middle of it. To the right of the house was a garden which looked like it was growing well. Behind the house sat a large white barn, which from the smell she knew it was the home to animals.

"May I help you?" Francine turned at the question to see a petite woman in her seventies with white hair pulled back into a bun. She wore a classic cotton dress with an apron over the top which she was drying her hands on.

Francine thought, _She is the epitome of a farm wife!_

"Mrs. Yoder?" Francine boldly asked.

"Yes?" Mrs. Yoder replied hesitantly while sizing up the woman standing in her driveway.

"I'm Federal Agent Francine Desmond. I'm looking for a Bob Yoder. Is he your son and is he here?" She asked as she took her badge out to show the other woman.

Mrs. Yoder sighed while she opened the screen door, "You might as well come on in the house, honey."

Francine reluctantly walked up the front steps to the door. She had this unsettled feeling that she was not going to be back in civilization tonight.

"Would you like a cup of coffee and a cinnamon roll? They are fresh from the oven," Mrs. Yoder asked, but didn't wait for an answer as she went to the cupboard to get cups and saucers. "Have a seat at the table there," she called over her shoulder, while she poured the coffee and arranged the rolls onto a plate. After loading it all onto a tray, she made her way over to the kitchen table, which sat in front of one of the three large picture windows that looked out on the front yard. There was an inside ledge that ran the length of the window which held potted plants. There were also hanging plants in front of the window. It was obvious to Francine that Mrs. Yoder had a green thumb.

"Where did you say your son was, Mrs. Yoder?" Francine tried.

"I don't remember saying, and you can call me Ethel. You better try a roll; I'm told they are the best in Fulton County. They've won a Blue Ribbon at the fair for 40 years straight." Ethel said with pride.

Francine smiled politely and took a small nibble. If she wasn't careful she would gain ten pounds on this assignment. The small nibble lead to a bigger nibble which lead to a full fledge bite. "Boy these are great! You don't get anything this good in DC," Francine said around an unlady like, mouth full of food. Realizing that her manners were lacking, she quickly covered her mouth with a napkin and said, "Excuse me and my manners."

Ethel laughed a nice laugh, "Most people can't help themselves with those cinnamon rolls."

"Now can you explain, Agent Desmond, why you are here?"

"Francine, you can call me Francine."

"Okay, Francine. What do you want my boy for?" Ethel asked politely although she already knew, but the mama bear was coming out in her.

"We need your son to come to DC to be questioned about being an accessory in the kidnapping of a Federal Doctor, a Federal Agent, and her mother."

"What makes you think my son is here?"

"We are hoping that you could tell us where to find him. We are hoping he can lead us to the man, who was behind the kidnappings," Francine was explaining as she pulled a picture out of her purse to lay it on the table. As she slid the picture over to Mrs. Yoder she continued, "This is Baron Von Eiger from Germany. We have reason to believe your son is working with the Baron." Francine pulled another picture out, one which contained both Bob and Von Eiger in it. She slid this picture over to the older woman as she continued explaining, "The Baron kidnapped one of our doctors and an agent to interrogate them for information. Von Eiger is a dangerous man, Mrs. Yoder. If your son is with him, he could be in danger."

Ethel looked at the pictures long and hard. That could be Bob in the one but it wasn't clear. "What makes you think this is my son? It's not a clear picture."

"We have ways of zooming in, plus we talked to lots of people in New York and New Orleans that met your son. He was very free with who he was and where he was from, Mrs. Yoder."

"My brother is fishing over in Indiana with a friend. I'll take you over to get him if you would like?" John spoke up.

"John, when did you get here? What do you mean taking her to arrest your brother?" an irate Ethel screamed.

John went over to comfort his mom. He put his arm around her and gently lowered her back into her chair, "It's the right thing to do and when you are thinking clearly you will see that." While Ethel started crying and put her head in her hands, John looked at Francine and continued, "I need to call my wife to come and be with my mother. My brother is at least two hours away. We can leave as soon as she gets here."

"Okay, Mr. Yoder, I assume. I will need to give my supervisor a call before we leave."

"I'm at the Yoder home, Billy, but Bob is in Indiana fishing. His brother is going to take me over there to get him. Its two hours from here and then his brother talks like it could take a while to locate him. Okay, I'll call when we've located him. Okay, Bye!"

Francine hung up the phone in the living room and walked back to the kitchen. John's wife, Marissa, had arrived while she had been talking with Billy. John's mother had gone to lie down. It was an odd feeling for Francine, but she felt sorry for Ethel. She oddly felt compelled to express a condolence, "I'm really sorry…I'm really only doing my…"

"It's alright Miss Desmond. We understand, and everything will turn out alright," Marissa said sweetly.

John kissed his wife good-bye and lovingly said, "See you later tonight."

This was good news to Francine, because it meant tomorrow she would be back in familiar territory.

Same Day Copper Harbor, MI 

A fishing boat made its way into the harbor tugging another boat with it. One seasonedfisherman, Larry, brought the boat to the peer while another fisherman, Daryl, threw the rope around the pole to secure the boat. The throttle was cut and the roar of the engine died away.

"Let's tell Pete we found his boat floating around on the lake," Larry said as the three burly brothers made their way to Pete's Fleet.

Opening the door the three walked in, "Hey, Gus, is Pete here?" Larry asked the clerk behind the counter.

"Yeah, he's in the back," Gus replied as Larry made his way to the back while Daryl and Chuck stayed to shot the breeze.

The next thing, they saw was Pete flying from the back with Larry in tow. Pete hurried to the dock to have a look, "That's my boat alright!"

"I know it is your boat. That's why I brought it back!" Larry huffed.

"It's the one the European guy rented, and that's his life jacket in there too. He must have fallen over board. Man, I told him to wear his life jacket!" Pete was saying in disbelief.

"Do you think he drowned?"

"I don't know what else to think. Thanks Larry for picking up my boat for me!"

"No problem. I'd better get my brothers and get these fish prepared."

The two men headed back to Pete's shop in silence. Both lost in thought of the Lake claiming another life. Lake Superior wasn't the ocean, but it was just as cruel.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

**Friday June 21, 1987 Q-Bureau**

"The Prime Minister arrives Sunday night and Duffy will meet him at the airport to take him to his hotel," Amanda was double checking the security schedule with Lee.

"Right. Monday morning Fielder, will pick him up at nine o'clock to bring him to the Smithsonian's Botanical Gardens where we will be waiting for him." Lee added with boredom.

"We will be his shadows for the day. We also have a seven o'clock meeting that morning with Dr. Smyth and Mr. Melrose."

"Amanda, we have been through this a hundred times," He said as he threw the file on his desk and moved his chair back to stand. As he made his way over to her desk he continued, "Come on let's get out of here. Next week is going to be even crazier and we have been working overtime on this security schedule all week."

"It's not going to hurt to go through this one more time; we can never be too careful," she practically said.

Lee let out a sigh, ran his left hand through his hair as he made his way back to his desk. He had no sooner sat down when the phone on his desk rang. Picking it up he barked, "Stetson!" Really. That's great. We sure will. July 1st at one. Okay we'll see you then."

Lee looked over to find his wife looking at him. "That was the Credit Union. The closing is set for July 1st at one in the afternoon. We get immediate possession; since the Agency is using the same lender we can close on your house immediately following."

She just sat there looking at her husband, stunned. After what seemed like ten minutes he said, "Amanda, say something!"

She blinked her eyes a couple of times, looked at her desk calendar, and said in disbelief, "July 1st, but Lee that's only a little over a week!"

"It's perfect Amanda! We get you, the boys, and your mother settled in before the wedding. Your mother's apartment can be started and we could have our wedding out back." He replied as he made his way back to his wife's desk.

"Have the wedding at our new house?"

"Yeah, it would be simple, nice, and easy." He explained with a grin.

"Speaking of the wedding we need to make the invitation list and order the invitations, plus order the cake. On top of that add moving, and oh let's not forget our work schedule," Amanda replied, feeling overwhelmed.

"We'll get it figured out; besides the wedding can be small for all I care!" He said as he leaned in close to kiss Amanda on the lips; but before their lips met there was a knock, and as they pulled apart Billy came through the door.

"Francine called, and she's finally been able to track down Bob Yoder. They are on their way to the airport now, and they should be here sometime late tonight she figured.

"Good. Maybe we can get some answers on the where about of Von Eiger, or was he with this character."

"No, Francine didn't see any sign of Von Eiger and Bob's not talking. He said he won't talk unless his lawyer is present."

"I'll get him to talk!"

"No Scarecrow, you are to stay away! His lawyer will get here sometime tomorrow. Francine will conduct the debriefing then."

Lee scowled, but didn't respond to Billy's command.

"Is everything arranged for the Prime Minister's visit?

"Yes, sir. Lee and I were just going through the schedule for a final time to make sure we haven't missed anything."

"Good, Amanda. Finish that up and then you two get out of here. I expect you here by seven Monday morning. Now I'm actually going to dinner with Jeannie."

"Okay, sir, have a good weekend," she was saying as Billy left the Q-Bureau.

"You heard Billy, Amanda, let's get out of here," Lee eagerly said.

"No, he said to get out of here after we review the security schedule," she practically pointed out. She continued with, "Now sit, Stetson, we have only gotten through Monday."

Lee sighed, went back to his desk, and picked up the schedule. Looking at it he said in monotone, "Okay Monday night, Anderson is the night watch…"

**Same day 4247 Maplewood Ave.**

While the boys had walked to the park to play basketball with their friends, the three adults sat at the picnic table talking after a supper of hamburgers, salad, and potato wedges. "I made some chocolate mousse if either of you would like some," Dotty offered.

"Oh no thanks, Mother. I couldn't eat another bite."

"Sounds great Dotty," Lee said enthusiastically.

"I'll go get it then."

Lee poured himself and Dotty some more wine, but Amanda only covered the top of her glass and shook her head. He shrugged knowing that she only drank small amounts.

Dotty came back outside with some mousse for herself and Lee. After eating in companionable silence, Dotty broke it by asking, "The closing is on July 1st. Are we starting to move that day?"

"We could probably take some of the things over that we don't really need at the moment. Maybe we should start doing some packing…sorting through…throwing things away."

"It will be the perfect time to get rid of what is not needed," Dotty agreed.

"Lee you should bring some of your stuff too so we can decide together what we want in the house," Amanda lovingly addressed her husband.

"I only have a few items that I really want. My record collection, ram's horn, and the roll top desk."

"Would you like those things in the office or the den?"

"Hummm… the office would be fine. Maybe we could make the office off limits and we could bring files from work home."

"That would be a great idea…we could be home earlier!"

"We should start packing tomorrow," an eager Dotty suggested.

"Sounds like a good idea, Mother!"

"I'll bring some boxes and donuts," Lee grinned.

"And some of that fabulous coffee?" Dotty asked hopefully.

Lee laughed as he shook his head and smiled at his mother in law.

**Saturday June 22, 1987 The Agency debriefing room**

Francine walked into the debriefing room to see Bob Yoder and his lawyer, Mr. Cramer, sitting at the table deep in conversation.

Francine began, "Mr. Yoder, were you hired by a Baron Von Eiger to kidnap Federal Doctor Kelford or Federal Agent Amanda King?"

"No this is the first, I've heard of either of those names."

"Do you know where Von Eiger is now?"

"No, he climbed through the upstairs window and left in his car."

Francine let out a sigh. All this trouble of tracking this guy down and he wasn't giving them anything.

"Do you have any idea of where he might head?" Francine asked sounding very sweet, when she really felt like pounding the guy.

"My fishing buddy was going to let us use his cabin up in the U.P., maybe he went there." Bob offered.

"What or where is this place that you're talking about?"

Bob snorted in disgust and said with a chuckle, "You've got to be kidding me! You don't know where the U.P. is?"

"Listen buddy, I'm getting very close to knocking your nose off your face. Mostly you have given me no useful information; now you had better tell me where this U.P. is!" Francine explained getting right into Bob's face and grabbing him by his shirt front.

"Listen you can't treat my client this way!"

Francine turned on Mr. Cramer and said menacingly, "No! You listen! This isn't some small time police station you're dealing with here. This is the Federal Government and we are talking about an international terrorist, who by the way kidnapped one of our doctors to aid in the torture of one of our agents, plus kidnapped her civilian mother. The Federal Government does things a bit different."

This scared Bob, a lot, and he quickly explained everything from how he was hired to his role in the kidnappings, their getaway and he finished with, "the U.P. is the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. It is like a wilderness, he could hide up there real easily." After the lengthy monologue he sat back in his chair and let out a huge sigh.

Francine looked at him long and hard, rolled her eyes, and turned to walk through the door slamming it behind her. Outside of the room she picked up the phone and dialed Billy at home. She explained the information she had gotten, and he told her to contact the nearest agency to see what they could find out. He told her to put Bob in a holding cell because there was nothing else to do until the Detroit Agency got back in touch. He then told her to go home for the day.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

**Sunday June 23, 1987 4247 Maplewood Ave.**

Amanda looked at the clock and noted Lee would be there in an hour with the pizza and movie, which he had promised to the boys if they worked hard yesterday and today. She had to admit the bribe worked. It was nice having help with the parenting, and the boys were greatly benefiting from a constant male influence and Lee's example of what being young gentlemen meant.

"Mom this box is full," Philip set it down on top of another one in the living room.

"Okay, sweetheart. Will you take this other one up to your grandmother," she asked handing it to her son.

"I guess I don't have a choice," he replied while reluctantly taking the box, but he perked up when the doorbell rang and ran to open the door exclaiming, "Lee it's about time you…Oh, Dad! I thought you were Lee with the pizza and movie," a dejected Philip blurted.

"Nice to see you too, Philip," Joe King wryly replied, "Is your mother here?"

"Sure come on in," he answered while opening the door wider for his dad to enter.

Joe saw boxes sitting around the room and Jamie coming down the stairs haphazardly carrying three boxes stacked on top of each other. When the top box started to tumble, he quickly moved to catch it, "Here let me help you with these!" He said as he took the top box for his son.

"Thanks dad. What are you doing here?"

"I hadn't seen you guys in a while. I wanted to hear about your vacation." Looking around him again he asked, "What's going on here?"

"We're moving dad!" Philip said excitedly as he went to get a cookie out of the jar, which his mom quickly replaced with an apple.

"Not before supper!" she admonished.

"Moving! Where?" a stunned Joe blurted out.

"To Rockville," Jamie added as he went to get an orange and a soda, to which his mother quickly replaced with a glass of milk.

"Rockville? What did you do win the lottery, Amanda?" he half joked while laughing in disbelief.

"Good one, Joe, but no we sold this house and we're moving," she added.

"We sure are Dad. Lee and mom are getting married, they're buying this great place, and they are having an apartment built for Grandma over the garage."

As Joe just stared at the three in stunned silence, Dotty walked into the room and dumped a box onto the floor.

"Well, that is all I can do for now! I think I am about ready to collapse. Oh, hi Joe! I didn't know you were here. Amanda, I'm going to go take a long bath. You guys start the pizza and movie without me," and with that she was back up the stairs.

"Amanda, I need to talk with you!"

"Okay, talk."

"Not here," he said looking between Philip and Jamie.

"Okay we can go out to the gazebo," she offered moving to the back door.

"No, let's go get some coffee," he said determinedly.

"Now is not a good time," she said looking around her.

"Why don't you take the boys for the night!"

"Seems like they have plans. I have tomorrow through Wednesday off. I could pick you guys up tomorrow morning and you could spend a couple of nights."

"Yeah, sounds good dad," both Philip and Jamie said trying to sound excited for their dad.

"I need to talk Amanda. You always say later, but later never comes," a challenging Joe said.

Amanda finally sighed and reluctantly conceded, "Okay, we'll go get a quick coffee."

**Same Night 4247 Maplewood Ave. **

Dotty was startled awake when she heard a noise down stairs. Getting out of bed she put her bathrobe on and moved to the hall, then she remembered it was probably Amanda finally coming home. She was moving down the stairs wondering why Amanda hadn't turned the small kitchen light on, when she heard a stool being ran into and then heard swearing.

"Lee, is that you? Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I was checking to make sure Amanda had made it home."

"She's not here yet, maybe you should just call her in the morning."

"No, it's alright. I'll just wait. You go on back to bed, Dotty."

Dotty went back to bed, but she didn't go back to sleep. She thought about the way this evening went. She knew Lee hadn't been pleased to find Amanda out with Joe when he had arrived, and as the evening wore on the antsier he got. It had been shortly after eight when the movie ended, and he decided to go home. She could still remember his tone and words distinctly.

He had said icily and with a commanding tone "If and when Amanda decides to come home tell her to call me!" At the time she had shrugged it off, but now she wondered about Lee, there was just something a little unsettling.

She finally heard the front door open and she hurriedly got out of bed hoping to meet Amanda at the stairs. She had only made it to the top of the stairwell when she saw her daughter walk through the landing and into the kitchen.

"I see the wayward wife decided to come home," She heard Lee icily state to Amanda.

This startled Amanda and caused her to stay rooted in the kitchen "Oh Lee, you startled me! You know I hate it when you do that!" She let out a soft sigh and added as she came into the family room completely, "I wasn't expecting you to still be here."

"Funny, I was expecting you to be here this evening at six and now it's eleven o'clock."

"You of all people should know that plans change at the last moment."

Dotty, as any respectful mother would do, came a little farther down the stairs to hear better.

"Plans that evolve a date with another man," Lee said with anger in his voice.

"Oh, come on Lee, it was only coffee with Joe."

"Who, happens to be your ex-husband. Trust me, a man has the right to know when his wife goes out with another man, especially when that man is her ex," Lee said with extreme heat in his voice while he rose from the couch and came nearer to Amanda.

"Okay it goes both ways, Lee. You don't account to me your every moments. How do I know that you're not with one of the many women from your four black books? Let's see, who have you been with? I believe there has been Debbie, Cindi, Candi," Amanda said with sarcasm and then added more harshly while dragging out, "or Raaandi Baby. No wait a minute, maybe more along your new tastes, Leslie."

This fast turn of Lee and Amanda's conversation made Dotty wish that she hadn't decided to eavesdrop, but she stood rooted in shock on the stairs. What she heard next about made her jump out of her skin and she dropped down on a step.

This lashing from Amanda angered Lee to his core, and he threw the tumbler of scotch that was in his hand against the fireplace. While glass and liquor shattered and splattered the hearth, Lee grabbed Amanda's arm as she tried to move away. He pulled her to him and hissed in her face, "That's a low blow Amanda!"

"Let go, Lee!"

"I want to talk!"

"Let go of me!"  
"I said let's talk, Amanda." he said as he got a tighter hold.

"Let go, you're hurting my arm," she said with pain in her voice.

"Now, Amanda!"

"I'll talk to Lee Stetson, but not to half a bottle of scotch."

"Maybe a kiss then," he leaned forward as he put his free hand behind her head and pulled her forward. He added as his lips almost touched hers, "Did Joe get some of this?"

As the hurtful insult left Lee's lips Amanda's free left hand swung up to make a resounding smack to his right cheek. Once the impact was made, it seemed simultaneously that his common sense returned. He released her arm and they both stared at each other for a moment.

"Amanda I…" he started.

"Leave!" She softly stated.

"Amanda, please…" He tried again.

"Leave, now!" She said more determinedly.

Lee could only stand and look at the only woman he truly loved and realized that he had hurt her, maybe beyond repair. He went to reach for her, but she took a step backwards out of reach. He was left with only being able to say, "Amanda, I'm sorry…"

"I said GET OUT!" She bit out harshly as she pointed to the door.

He let a huge sigh escape and did the only thing he could do; he slowly walked to the door and opened it, and he looked back at his wife to give her a remorseful look. As his eyes met the cold hard ones of his wife, he quickly raced through the door and slipped into the night.

Amanda was watching her husband slip through her back door when she noticed the half bottle of scotch sitting on the coffee table. She picked it up and with pent up anger sent it to join the tumbler against the fireplace. As the bottle shattered against the hearth she let out a strangled yell of fury.

"Amanda! Are you okay?" a worried Dotty called.

Amanda took a deep tremulous breath and silently berated herself on how stupid she was to disturb her mother's sleep. She quickly tried to calm her mother and in a shaky voice called out, "Don't come down here Mother! I…uh…I dropped a vase and glass is all over the floor!"

"I can help you clean it up. I thought I heard Lee." Dotty soothingly called.

"It's okay, I can get it. I don't want you to get glass in your feet. Just go back to bed Mother. I didn't mean to wake you."

Dotty thought for a minute and then decided that Amanda just needed time alone. "Are you sure dear?"

"I'm sure, I can get it."

"Okay, good night. I love you!"

"I love you too, Mother, good night."

After she was sure that her mother was in her room, Amanda sat down on the couch, buried her head into her hands, and started to weep.

**Monday June 24, 1987 4247 Maplewood Ave**

Amanda descended the stairs to the smell of coffee. She walked into the kitchen as her mother was pouring a cup of the brew and held it out to her. She silently took the proffered cup from her mother, and slowly walked to the back window to look out as she sipped the steaming coffee. _Was she subconsciously looking for Lee? Did she really want to see him yet?_ She honestly wasn't sure of the answers.

Dotty came and stood next to her daughter. After a few silent minutes, she finally asked, "Would you like to talk?"

Amanda turned tired eyes to her mother and replied, "There's really nothing to talk about."

"I'm sorry Amanda, but I heard your and Lee's argument last night."

"It's okay, I figured you did. Actually you probably couldn't help but hear it. I'm surprised we didn't wake the boys," she said tiredly as she went to sit on the couch.

"Amanda…" Dotty started and stopped, but the concern was in her voice. Amanda just turned to look at her mother again. As she went to join her daughter on the couch she tried again, "Amanda, really what's the rush. You don't have to get married next month, why most people take a year to be engaged. I mean you've only been dating Lee a little close to a year." It was when she was stating this that a thought hit her, so she quickly and softly added, "If you're pregnant you don't have to get married you know; I'll help you just like I have with the boys."

As Amanda patted her mother on the arm, she shook her head and replied through her chuckles, "Don't worry mother I'm not pregnant." She smiled at her mother and added, "It'll be okay."

"Lee scared me last night, Amanda. I didn't know he could get angry like that," Dotty tried another way.

"Don't worry about it Mother. Lee has a quick temper, but it blows over fast. You'll see he'll be back to normal today. Besides that was just jealousy and a half bottle of scotch talking."

"That's another concern Amanda what if Lee is an alcoholic?"

Amanda couldn't help but laugh and stated seriously, "Lee is not an alcoholic; he is only a social drinker, who got drunk! There is a big difference."

"Trust me, Missy, but women who are in abusive situations make excuses for their loved ones all the time. I just think you should take a little more time is all."

"Mother, I don't need more time. I've dated Lee for a long time!"

"Like I said Amanda, less than a year and I call that rushing it."

"No, Mother, it's been longer than that," Amanda hastily said, but stopped wondering how much she should say. She then decided to tell her mother everything. Rising off of the couch, Amanda walked back to the window to look out. After a moment, she turned back to her mother and before she could chickened out she blurted in a rush, "Mother, Lee and I've been dating for two years and we've known each other for four years now."

Dotty just sat with her mouth open, staring as Amanda continued, "Actually we're not rushing into marriage," Amanda swallowed hard, took a deep fortifying breath, and mustard all her courage to say, "We're not rushing into marriage because we are already married!" After the words rushed out she released the breath she had been holding.

Dotty wasn't sure if she had heard her daughter right and could only stare at Amanda for a few quiet minutes. She was sure that her daughter had taken flight of all common sense, but had to make sure she had heard correctly, "Did you say that you are already married?" She asked in disbelief.

"Yes Mother, you heard correctly!" Amanda replied with a sigh.

"Why?"

Amanda smiled at the memories that crept in, "because we love each other."

"No, why didn't you tell us, your family?" Dotty said with hurt in her voice.

"Lee and I started dating secretly. Nobody even knew at work until Lee and I got framed for selling secrets. He came here the day we left to tell me that he loved me for the first time. I was scared that if I stayed I would lead the bad people to harm you and the boys. Besides, Lee and I work best as a team, and he needed me to cover his back. After we were cleared at work, we just acted as friends and co-workers, but we weren't fooling too many people. Later that year, I was kidnapped and Lee came to my rescue, but we weren't sure that we were going to get out alive. He proposed while we were being held hostage and he had a ring waiting on my desk when I went back on active duty. One thing we've learned in this business is that once you find something worth keeping; hold on to it! We decided we didn't want to wait, but Lee was just getting to know you and the boys. Also for your and the boys' protection, we decided to marry secretly."

"How long?"

"Four months. We got married in February," Amanda said as she came and sat on the couch next to her mother.

"California?"

"Our honeymoon."

"What's made you change your mind?"

"Because it was a stupid idea, and it's so hard having to leave each other at night. All this sneaking around even though we're married makes me feel cheap. We want all of us to be together as a family, all the time; we're tired of just playing house as Lee calls it. Lee's here so much anyone would have to be blind to not know that we're involved."

"Living apart across town is not much different than living apart across the world, Amanda. That's one of the reasons you and Joe didn't last. Besides Lee can protect us better here than across town," Dotty practically added.

"Trust me we've talked about that too!"

"Okay, you're married, but that still doesn't excuse his temper and the way he acted last night!" Dotty said in her matter of fact motherly tone.

"You have to trust me Mother; Lee is normally not like that. He just has a jealous and protective streak when it comes to me."

"Why would Lee be jealous of Joe, it's Lee you love not Joe," a confused Dotty added.

"I've told him that, but Lee can't understand why Joe voluntarily left us. Both of Lee's parents were murdered when he was five and he had to go live with an unaffectionate uncle, who is a Colonel in the Army."

"This is the one, who he calls the Colonel?"

Amanda just pursed her lips together and shook her head yes.

It hit Dotty what Amanda had said and she softly asked, "Both of Lee's parents were murdered?"

"Uh, huh," she grimly said. Then looking around the room to make sure that no one else had walked in, Amanda softly added, "His parents were spies too. They were going to go to the authorities with some information they had found about some illegal dealings this guy was doing. Before they could go to the authorities he had them murdered."

"That's just awful!" Dotty expressed sadly.

"The murder of his parents and having to live with his uncle, who didn't give him the emotional support he needed, caused him to build many walls around himself. Slowly I've been able to break through those walls and what a fine man I've found there."

Amanda looked at the clock and saw that she needed to get going. In a confidential tone Amanda explained, "Now Mother that was only need to know information, and Lee doesn't need to know what I've told you."

Dotty smiled mischievously and in a conspiratorial tone added, "My lips are sealed!"

Amanda took her cup to the sink, picked up her purse, and started for the back door. With her hand on the doorknob she added, "Joe should be here around ten for the boys. Bye Mother, I love you!"

"Bye Dear, I love you too. Have a better day." Dotty added in a loving tone.

Amanda smiled a genuine smile and replied, "It's looking better already just talking to you," and with that she headed out the door.

"Oh that girl didn't eat breakfast again. She's starting to take after her husband already," Dotty muttered.

**Same Day The Agency, Billy's office**

Amanda was getting nervous. Not nervous that she couldn't handle the security detail for the day, but nervous because Lee hadn't shown up. It was not like him; for normally he would have been here already. _Where was her husband?_ She wondered.

"Looks like you have everything in order, King," Dr. Smyth was impressed and she could hear it in his tone.

"Thank you, sir," Amanda replied humbly.

Looking at Billy, Dr. Smyth asked abruptly, "Where's Scarecrow? Why isn't he here or is he already with the Prime Minister?"

"He was supposed to be here at this meeting," Billy replied and then looked at Amanda, "Any idea where your partner is?"

"No, sir. Let me give him a call." Picking up the phone she dialed Lee's number as she turned away from Dr. Smyth and Billy. As the extension on the other end was still ringing she said into the receiver, "Lee, you sound awful are you okay? Oh, no, that's bad! Listen you should probably go back to bed. I can handle everything today. Okay. Bye." Taking a calming breath she turned back to her superiors and replied, "Lee's been sick all night. I guess taking the boys up on the challenge to see who could eat the most pizza did him in. I suppose he's learned that he doesn't have a teenage stomach anymore," she finished with a faint smile.

While Billy burst out laughing at Lee's expense, Dr. Smyth replied smugly, "Scarecrow, dealing with teenagers, now that I would love to see." He took a puff on his cigarette and then continued, "Okay, King, you'll have to run with it. Can you do this?"

"Yes, sir. We have, um, I have everything planned out."

"You're dismissed then," Dr. Smyth said curtly and waited until she was out the door and into the bullpen to continue, "How do you think she'll do, William?"

"Honestly, Austin, she'll do fine. She's the one that's spent most of the time organizing the security detail. I'm sure she knows the schedule better than Scarecrow does."

"It'll definitely be good for her to have to work alone," Dr. Smyth added decidedly.

**Same Day 4247 Maplewood Ave.**

Lee stood on Amanda's front steps with a paper bag in his hand, waiting for the doorbell to be answered. He almost always took Amanda to work anymore so he guessed Dotty must be out with the car. It seemed kind of early for her to be gone, but maybe she had an early hair appointment. While standing there he remembered he had heard the phone ringing while he was in the shower, but whoever called didn't leave a message. He hoped everything was okay with his family.

He was debating whether to pick the lock when Dotty finally opened the door. "Oh, Lee, I'm sorry I was in the middle of putting a roast on…come on in. Boy you look like you could use a cup of coffee," Dotty was rattling which wasn't helping the monster headache he had.

As he followed Dotty into the house he tried to keep up with her conversation. He was learning two things. The most important one was that he was getting too old to drink half a bottle of scotch in one sitting. Secondly, he knew where Amanda got her ability to ramble, which she had curved a lot; sometimes he had to admit he missed it.

Suddenly he noticed that it was quiet, and he looked up to find Dotty looking at him with an out stretched hand holding a cup of coffee. He cleared his throat and stammered, "I… um…sorry I must have been daydreaming. Thanks, I sure can use a cup of coffee," he added after accepting the cup and taking a sip.

"You look like you could use a lot of something, but I'm not sure if I know what else you need!" Dotty replied sternly.

"Coffee's fine," he said as he sat on a stool and put the bag on the island.

"Wasn't expecting you this morning after your and Amanda's fight last night," Dotty laid it on the line, but instead of looking like she wanted to start a fight she went back to preparing her roast.

Lee cringed at Dotty's admission, "You, uh, heard us last night?"

"I really couldn't help not hearing; my room's at the top of the stairs."

Lee nodded in understanding. Dotty continued on, "If you have a problem with alcohol there is help for it. I looked some places up this morning. Here are the numbers," she said in a motherly tone as she reached for the paper with the numbers on it.

Lee really didn't know what to do. He wanted to laugh, but he also didn't want to hurt his mother in law's feelings as she was being so sweet and sincere. He started with, "Uh, Dotty, I don't really," then he stopped and looked at her. Concern was written on her face. He continued, "I'm glad that you care, but I don't have a drinking problem."

"That's what most alcoholics say," she said very seriously. She then placed the paper into his hand.

Looking around and not seeing his expensive bottle of liquor he asked, "Did you dump the rest of it?"

Going over to the trash can, Dotty picked up the broken bottle, and held it up as she said, "I think this is the vase your wife dropped last night."

Lee let out a huge sigh, but before he could respond the doorbell rang. "That's probably Joe coming to get the boys," she said and then went to open the front door.

Lee could hear her saying "Hi" to Joe and that she needed to go wake up the boys. Lee could also hear her offering him coffee. _Great! _he thought, _Just the person I want to see!_

Joe came into the room and saw Lee sitting on a stool at the island. He started to hesitate, but decided that he wasn't going to hide. "Good morning Lee," Joe offered as he walked over to the coffee pot.

"Oh good morning, Joe."

Joe looked at Lee and thought he looked like he had been through the ringer. He offered as only another man could, "Boy you look like you had a rough night."

"Yeah Amanda and I had a fight last night," Lee said dejectedly as he wondered what possessed him to admit this. This caused him to add with a little heat to his voice, "What were you and Amanda doing until eleven o'clock last night?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." Joe replied with a little confusion showing in his voice.

"Amanda didn't get home until eleven last night," He said accusingly.

"Around six thirty Amanda said she wanted to go. I offered to bring her back here, but she asked to be dropped off at your place so I figured she was going to meet you."

"No, we had plans for me to be her at six. I wonder what she did!"

"I honestly don't know what she did after we parted. You'll have to ask her."

It was then that the boys came down the stairs with their grandmother in tow, "Hey dad we're ready."

"You boys need breakfast," Their grandmother reminded them.

"It's okay, Dotty. I'll take them out for breakfast," Joe quickly said. He then told his sons, "Okay grab your stuff and let's go!"

"Bye, Grandma! Bye, Lee!" both boys called as they went to the front door.

"Bye have a good time," both adults called after them.

Dotty turned to Lee and finally asked what she had wanted to know for a while, "Lee?"

"Yeah?"

"Aren't you supposed to be at work? Amanda said you two had an early meeting this morning."

Lee looked at Dotty with wide eyes as if he was a deer caught in head lights. "The Prime Minister. Oh no, I forgot all about that meeting. I've got to get going!" he finished as he moved from the island. Once he made it to the landing, he called over his shoulder, "Thanks for the coffee."

Lee was heading up the landing when the backdoor opened and Amanda came through slamming it behind her. When she saw Lee leaving she called out, "Stop right there, Scarecrow!"

Lee turned around to look at Amanda, who looked furious, and he wished he hadn't looked back but had just kept heading for the front door.

"Uh, Amanda. What are you doing here?"

"Funny, I want to ask you the same thing."

Dotty used this moment to announce, "I think that I'll just go outside and work on the roses." She moved to the utility room to put her gardening shoes on.

"Sit down!" Amanda commanded as she motioned to the stool and set his suit and a bag on a chair in the breakfast nook.

Lee obediently came and sat back down to watch his wife as she fixed a concoction of tomato and lemon juice, Worcestershire and tabasco sauce; but he was quickly losing track of what she was putting in there. Finally, she handed him the glass and said, "Drink it!"

Lee obediently took the glass, but as he stared at the liquid his stomach started to roll, "What are you doing trying to kill me?"

"No, I wanted to do that last night! Now drink it!"

He let out a sigh, raised the glass in a toast, and then downed the concoction, which he knew for sure was meant as torture. Making an awful face he whined, "Oh, Amaaaanda that's was just awful!"

She took the glass from him and went to rinse it out in the sink. He took the opportunity while her back was to him to apologize, "Amanda, I'm sorry about last night. I don't know what came over me?"

Turning around to look at him, she replied matter of factually, "Jealousy and a half bottle of scotch. Lee, marriage has to be built on trust."

"Do you forgive me?" Lee asked sincerely as he came near his wife.

"Yes, if you forgive me too. I never should have brought up those black books."

"I forgive you too, but that reminds me," he replied as Amanda watched him get a bag off the island. "Here these are yours," he said as he extracted the four black books and handed them to her.

"Lee, I can't…I don't need these…Some of these are your contacts," she stammered while looking sincerely into her husband's hazel eyes.

"I don't need them if they are going to cause insecurity in our marriage. Besides you know I have my family on another list." he lovingly added.

Amanda took the books from him and just stared at them for a moment. Finally she said, "I'll tell you what; we'll go through these together. If a name is a contact we'll put it into a different book and then we can throw these away."

Lee shook his head as he looked at his wife. He smiled and said, "You truly are an amazing woman." He came closer and took his wife by her arms and looked down into her eyes, as he expressed with love and concern in his voice, "Where were you last night?"

"At the Jefferson Memorial," she said in a small voice as she lowered her head.

"Why?" He asked as he lifted her chin back up.

"I just needed to think. Things seem to be moving so fast for me personally and I needed some time alone. I lost track of time and before I realized it it was after ten o'clock."

Lee pulled her into his arms and gave her a big hug, "I really am sorry Amanda," he whispered into her hair. A tight squeeze was her reply.

Finally she broke apart, went over to a chair, and picked up his suit and a bag. She handed them to him as she explained, "You better get ready. By the way, you were sick all night from accepting a challenge, of who could eat the most pizza, from the boys."

Lee started laughing and asked, "They bought it?"

"Yeah, but Stetson you pull a stunt like last night again and you're out on your ear," She said in a stern business voice.

"Yes, ma'am, it won't happen again. I promise," he said with no mocking in his voice.

As he was moving over to the stairs he remembered to ask, "Where's the Prime Minister?"

"It seems the Prime Minister is use to a mid-morning snack and a nap," Carmichael is covering him at the motel, she said with amusement in her voice.

Lee chuckled as he nodded his head and headed to change his clothes.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

**Wednesday June 25, 1987 Agency, Billy's Office**

Billy picked up the ringing phone from his desk and barked, "Melrose." He listened to the caller on the other end and finally replied, "Okay, thanks for looking into it. I'll take it from here," he sighed as he put the phone back in its cradle. He smiled to himself and let out a few chuckles as he thought, _Francine is going to love this!_ Getting up from his desk, he went to his office door, opened it, and barked into the bullpen from the doorway, "Desmond!" Francine looked up at Billy and waited for him to bark, "My office, NOW!"

She rose and made her way into his office where she sat in a chair. Billy went and sat back down behind his desk. He smiled at her for a minute before explaining, "The Detroit Agency called, and they don't have any leads on Baron Von Eiger. They have searched their Lower Peninsula, but can't expense the man power to search the Upper Peninsula. I want you and McMillan to start a search. I'm going to arrange a flight to Michigan tomorrow morning. You can have the rest of the day off. You could be gone a while.

Francine closed her eyes and sighed. She snickered in disbelief, "You're kidding right Billy. This is some practical joke you're playing on me," but when she looked into his eyes she knew he wasn't joking. "How long will I be gone?" she finally asked unenthusiastically.

"However long it takes to find the Baron. I'll keep our friend, Mr. Yoder, in a holding cell until we can locate Von Eiger."

"I can't believe that I've got to cancel on Jonathon again. If this keeps up, I will definitely have to say good-bye to this relationship."

"If he can't be understanding of your job then it wasn't meant to be," Billy said in a fatherly tone.

Francine sighed and reluctantly said, "I can't believe that I'm going back to non-civilization," she huffed as she got out of the chair and headed for the door. She turned back to Billy and added, "A rookie, Billy! You're teaming me up with a rookie?"

"They have to start somewhere Francine. I'll call with your flight schedule and your ticket will be delivered to you by courier," Billy replied and started looking at files on his desk.

Francine looked at her section chief for a moment longer, and then with a displeasing look made her way back out into the bullpen to get her purse from her desk. After cleaning up her desk, she gathered her things and went home to pack and wait for further instructions.

**Saturday June 28, 1987 Agency, Q-Bureau**

Lee pushed back in his chair at his desk and stretched. Sighing he got out of his chair, picked up the file he had been working on, and went over to Amanda's desk. "I've got my part all finished," he said as he set the file on his wife's desk.

"I'm almost finished and then I can type them up," she replied without look up.

"Boy this really turned out to be an easy week, but don't tell Billy!" Lee said laughing.

Amanda looked up and smiled, "See all the planning paid off. I'm pleased the reception went well."

"So am I and you looked beautiful that night," Lee smiled mischievously. Amanda's reply was just a soft smile.

"By now the Prime Minister should be somewhere over the Pacific heading home. Which speaking of home we get to close on ours this Monday," Lee couldn't hide his excitement.

"I can't wait to see the place again!" Amanda said wispily as she still worked on their report.

"See it; we should plan on sleeping there Monday night!"

Amanda stopped writing and looked at her husband, "the boys are going to a sleepover and Mother's out of town flying with Curt. I like it! I like the idea!"

"It's a deal then, Mrs. Stetson," Lee said huskily as he bent to kiss his wife.

After they pulled apart, Amanda added breathlessly, "While I get this report typed up for Billy; why don't you start a guest list for the wedding."

Lee rubbed his hands together as he went back to his desk to sit down. He took out a piece of paper and replied, "Now this is one assignment that I'm going to like!"

**Sat. June 28, 1987 The Fox River Motel Seney, MI **

_This is like finding a needle in a haystack,_ Francine thought. Francine and McMillan had flown into Mackinaw City without incident last Thursday morning, had rented a car from the airport, and searched the eastern side of the Upper Peninsula from top to bottom. There was no sign of the Baron and no one recognized his picture, but of course they realized that he could have changed his appearance by now too. On top of that, there were so many little towns and wildernesses in this desolate place for him to hide in.

McMillan, a rookie, was loving his first real experience out in the field. He was so eager to keep moving; that she finally had to put her foot down, as the senior agent, for them to stop for the day and possibly the weekend.

Now she needed to call Billy to give an update on the search, but really what was there to update. She had put off the inevitable as long as she dared and picked up the phone to dial the number for the Agency in DC. After the line rang three times she heard the familiar, "Melrose," on the other end.

"Billy, this is Francine. We have made our way over to Seney, Michigan and have stopped for the weekend. Still no sign of Von Eiger and no one recognizes his picture, but of course we don't know if he still looks like this."

"Keep searching Francine. Hopefully you will get a lead soon."

"Billy, this is like searching for a needle in a haystack!" she whined and when she heard Billy chuckle on the other end she continued, "I swear, Billy, you're doing this on purpose!"

"No Francine, I'm not! We need to know where he is at, preferable still in the US," He said sternly as if he was talking to one of his daughters.

"I'll call again Monday to give you another update," she dejectedly replied.

"Enjoy the rest of your weekend, Francine."

"Are you kidding, there's nothing to do in this desolate wilderness, but to watch birds mate!" as she told this to Billy, she was thinking of McMillan being so excited that this was the right season to see the grouse's mating dance.

As she hung up the phone on her laughing section chief, there was a knock on her motel door followed closely by, "Franny, are you ready to see the grouse's do their mating dance?" McMillan asked excitedly.

Francine hoped that if she didn't answer then he would go away, but five minutes later she heard, "Come on Franny, I know you're in there and I've already paid for both of us to go. You never know you might actually enjoy it."

Taking a deep breath she slowly opened the door and smirked as she said dryly, "Guess I've seen worse. Okay let's go, but don't call me Franny!"

**Mon. July 1, 1987 Agency, Billy's Office**

Billy's office door opened unexpectedly and in walked, Austin Smyth, the Agency Director. He walked over to the TV which hung on the wall and clicked it on to reveal news coverage of a bombing. Billy got out of his chair and made his way over to the TV. He watched as he saw emergency personal responding to the injured, police directing the chaos; and civilians in different states of grief, shock, or anger. The TV reporter was giving the highlights, "We are live at the Smithsonian's Freer Gallery of Art; where a bomb has went off in a trash can in front of the building. At least twenty people are dead and fifty people injured. Police do not have any suspects at this time."

Dr. Smyth turned to Billy and said, "I haven't seen any active terrorist groups, for inside the States, on the watch?"

"No, we haven't gotten any tips either or we would have tried to prevent this."

At that moment the two men's attention was drawn back to the TV as the news reporter started getting excited, "This is just in; a bomb has gone off at the Glockenspiel in Munich, Germany. At least fifty have been killed and a hundred are injured. We are trying to get a live connection there."

The two men looked at each other with the same expression, which was one of trying to figure out if this was coincidental or the work of the same group.

Billy went back to his desk and picked up his phone to call the Q-Bureau. After waiting for it to ring for the third time, he barked into the receiver, "Scarecrow, you and Amanda get down her NOW!" he then slammed the phone back into the cradle.

Billy went back to join Dr. Smyth again in front of the TV, which had now moved coverage to the bombing in Germany. This is the way Lee and Amanda found the two men when they came into the office. Amanda's eyes where immediately drawn to the TV and after taking a moment to figure out what was going on she uttered, "Oh, my gosh!" as she covered her mouth with her hand.

Lee was about to ask Billy what he wanted when he heard Amanda's gasp. He too looked at the TV to see the confusion as the reporters kept moving between DC and Munich. Finally Lee asked, "What's going on?"

"There's been a bombing here at the Smithsonian and at the Glockenspiel in Munich," Dr. Smyth replied without taking his eyes off the TV.

"Scarecrow, I want you and Amanda to get over to the Smithsonian's Freer Gallery of Art and take over the investigation. I'll get Fielder to get in contact with our agent stationed in Munich. I want to know what terrorist's group did this."

Lee sighed and looked at his partner with disgust written on his face, and he said as he reached out his hand to take his wife's, "Let's get down there, you know after all these years in this business, it's still doesn't get any easier seeing senseless acts of terror."

As Lee and Amanda left the bullpen, they could hear Billy barking, "Fielder, my office NOW!"

**Same Day Agency, Q-Bureau**

Lee and Amanda were pouring over the pictures and notes that they had gleaned from the crime scene. They had spent most of the day there except for the time they took for the two closings. _So much for our romantic night at our new home, _Amanda thought as she let out a sigh.

Lee looked up at his wife and gave her a weak smile as he said, "Why don't we order some Chinese and take a little break. I'm not exactly sure, but in my gut I sense that this is a familiar MO."

"A break sounds great. I'll order for us," she said as she moved to her desk to get the Chinese House's menu to place the order for their regular fare.

Lee got up from behind his desk to stretch. He moved over behind his wife and started to massage her shoulders. As she moved her neck around, Amanda moaned in reply and stated, "That feels so good! The food will be her in thirty minutes."

"Good," Lee replied as he bent to kiss the nape of her neck. He could have kissed a lot longer, but Amanda forced them to work some more while they waited for their food to arrive. When Mrs. Martson buzzed that the delivery was there; Lee went down to pick the food up and to pay for it while Amanda cleared her desk and set it for supper. Once he arrived back with their food they settled in for a companionable supper.

When they were almost finished eating, the phone on Lee's desk rang. He got up and answered with, "Stetson. Okay, we are going to be here for a while," he hung up the phone, turned to his wife, and explained, "Fielder has an update on Munich. He'll be up here in about fifteen minutes." Amanda started to clear her desk of the supper remains and deposited it all into the trash. She then took a Lysol wipe from its container to wash off her desktop. She was just throwing the wipe away when Fielder came through the door with a thick folder.

"Where do you want to go through this at?"

"Let's use Amanda's desk since it's cleaned off."

Fielder started laying out pictures of the carnage and test results of the bombs that the agency in Munich had faxed over. Amanda had faxed the findings from the Smithsonian bombing about an hour ago to Munich.

The three agents started comparing pictures, notes, and lab results of the two bombings. Lee pulled over the chalkboard to have it next to them and they started to write down similarities. Way too many similarities!

"Boy these two bombs are very similar, Scarecrow," Fielder expressed what all three of them were thinking.

Lee stopped writing at the chalkboard, turned with a pensive look on his face, and said almost under his breath, "Yeah, too similar to be coincidental." He then looked at Amanda and Fielder, as he stated louder, "I don't know what it is but this method looks familiar. I just can't place where though."

Amanda looked at the ingredient contents of the two bombs, picked up the lab report of how the bombs were designated, and what the bombs were housed in. Lost in thought Amanda slowly started putting together who used these types of bombs. In disbelief she muttered, "Karbala!"

"What'd you say Amanda?"

She looked up at Lee with wide eyes and uttered, "Karbala, that's where we have seen these types of bombs, but aren't they…" she trailed off.

Lee stood looking at his wife trying to think if this could be true. Going over to her desk, he said as he bent over her shoulder, "Show me what you're seeing. What makes you think Karbala?"

Amanda started showing her husband how she came to this suspicion. Lee slowly started to nod his head and said, "I can see a similarity, but it could be a long shot, Amanda. They've disbanded since Birol was captured."

Amanda rose from her desk and went to the vault to look for files on Birol and Karbala. Finding them quickly she emerged from the vault with files in hand. She sat back down at her desk as Lee pulled his chair up next to hers. Both Lee and Amanda soon became totally engrossed in their work. They were so engrossed that they became oblivious to the fact Fielder was still in the room.

Fielder, who by now felt like a third wheel, was kind of mesmerized by how fluent Scarecrow and Amanda worked together. He could never figure out how the two of them could work as one, but he was seeing it firsthand this evening. Finally, after about an hour of observing the team hash through theories and fact, he stretched, and announced as he stood to move toward the door, "Since you two seem to have everything under control; I think I'll go home to eat supper with my family."

"Okay thanks, Fred, for bringing this up. We'll get in touch if we need any more information," Amanda said as she turned with a smile.

"Good night," Lee said briskly, while he still kept his head bent poring over the files.

Fielder said a final "good bye" and left the room.

Two hours later, Lee finally looked at Amanda and said through a yawn, "Why don't we pick up here tomorrow? I think rested eyes will see straighter!"

"Yeah you're probably right," she said as she pushed back from her desk.

"The night's still young we may be able to salvage some of our evening," Lee hinted with a seductive look on his face.

"Your place or mine?" She asked with a subtle smile.

"Ours!" He said with boyish excitement in his voice as he opened the Q-Bureau's door and guided his wife through the opening with his hand on the small of her back.

**Same Day Rockville House, MD**

Lee stopped the car in front of their home. _Their home, _he thought had a wonderful ring to it. He got out of the car and went around to the passenger side to open the door. Helping Amanda out of the car he whispered in her ear, "home sweet home, Mrs. Stetson," and she turned and smiled at her husband. "Wait a minute while I get my bag out," Lee said as he reluctantly let his wife's hand go to open the trunk of the car. He quickly grabbed the bag and was back by his wife's side; ready to guide her into the house.

"Lee, I don't have anything to change into."

"That's okay you don't need any clothes for what I have in mind," He smiled mischievously.

Her laugh was her throaty one that turned Lee on even more. As he hurried their pace to the porch and unlocked the front door, she chuckled as she added, "I'm talking about something to wear tomorrow for work," and she playfully slapped her husband in his middle.

"I think we can arrange something," He said huskily.

After shutting the front door, he dropped his bag and swooped his wife up into his arms. He heard a soft, "Oh" and then another laugh as his wife put her arms around his neck. He proceeded to carry her to their bedroom. After arriving at the master bedroom's door, he carried his wife over the threshold, set her on the floor, and switched on the overhead light.

"Oh my gosh, Lee…how did you...it's gorgeous!" She exclaimed as she stood taking in their bedroom furniture.

Lee had a pleased look on his face and replied softly, "you like it?"

"It's just beautiful! You shouldn't have…," she trailed off not able to express what she was feeling. She added, "You didn't have to spend this much," She waved her arm around to take in the queen size sleigh bed, full dresser with attached mirror, bureau drawers, two bedside tables, and a vanity; all a matching set made from Mahogany.

"I saw you looking at them in the sales paper and I thought they would look perfect in our room," He explained as he pulled his wife into his embrace and turned off the light.

**2:00 am**

"I don't know! Please don't!" Amanda yelled in her sleep, which jolted Lee fully awake and caused him to turn on the lamp that stood on the bedside table.

"Amanda, honey!" He called gently and soothingly.

"DON'T!" Amanda yelled again and bolted upright. She sat in bed shaking, trying to calm her erotic heartbeat, and to catch her ragged breath.

Lee moved over to take her into his arms and when he touched his wife she about jumped out of bed, "It's okay, Amanda, it's just me!" he tried to calm her.

Quickly looking around at Lee she asked in apprehension, "Where are we?"

"We're in our room in Rockville, sweetheart."

"Rockville?" She asked trying to get her bearings.

"Our new house, remember? We came here tonight after work."

"Yeah, I remember now. I had a dream." She admitted in a small voice.

"More like a nightmare! Do you want to talk about it?" Lee asked lovingly as he put his arm around his wife and pulled her into him as he laid them back down.

"I don't really remember what it was about," she replied through a yawn. She closed her eyes and said sleepily, "turn the light off Lee and let's go back to sleep."

He reached over and clicked off the light, but sleep was far away right now. He pulled his wife closer and started wondering what she could have been dreaming about.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

**Tues. July 2, 1987 Baron's Chalet Munich, Germany **

_Ah it felt good to be home_, Baron Von Eiger thought as he sat in an oversized chair in

his library. He'd been home for about a week now and he didn't plan on leaving any time soon. He had written to Ahab Habib to inform Birol that he was now out of the game.

Getting back home through Canada was a piece of cake even though it was an adventure in itself. _I should have started there weeks ago instead of listening to that idiot, Bob; _he thought as he took a puff on his cigarette and took a sip of his gin. He started thinking about the hunters, who he had stumbled upon in the Canadian Forest. They had promised to get him out of the woods the next day, but their dogs kept hunting game and the hunters just couldn't pass up the food. He didn't mind too much for the hunters were companionable and good story tellers. In actuality the five extra days he had been with the Canadians seemed to have flown by.

He started thinking about the people in his social circle. _They don't even know the real reason I went to prison for. Most people think it's because I embezzled money from the art society I'd been the treasurer of. I did embezzle from the fund, but they don't know that the real reason is for attempted murder. _ He continued to think; _maybe I'll throw a party in a week or so to get back into the social scene. I'll let people know I went on a vacation to see the United States to celebrate getting out of prison._

"That sounds like a good plan; a party. I like it I'll throw a party," the Baron said out loud to himself.

**Tues. July 2, 1987 Lee's Corvette **

"I will easily get used to this Amanda; us waking up together every morning, and leaving for work together; from our home," Lee brightly said as he smiled at his wife.

"Not too much longer, Sweetheart," she replied with her own smile as she reached out and took his hand. "You never did explain how you got all the stuff to the house," she went on to add.

"Your mother, I asked her if she would be willing to get your stuff together and be at the house to let the delivery guys in."

"You asked my Mother to get stuff for us to spend the night together?"

"Amanda, I don't know how to tell you this, but she already knows that we're married."

Amanda said in her saucy tone which Lee hadn't heard in a few years, "Well of course, I know she knows that we're married, but I didn't know you knew that she knew we were married." Lee shook his head trying to follow his wife's ramble which brought back memories of the early years.

"How did you find out she knew?"

"She referred to you as my wife the day after our big fight. How did she find out?"

"I told her the same morning. She had heard our fight and was afraid I was rushing into marriage because she thinks you have a dri…" Amanda cut herself off.

"She thinks I'm an alcoholic," Lee finished flatly.

Amanda looked over at her husband with an empathetic look on her face.

Lee started laughing as he squeezed her hand, "I'm surprised she left the champagne for us last night. She gave me a list of all the Alcoholics Anonyms' in the DC and surrounding area.

"Oh Lee, I'm sorry! I told her you don't have a problem!"

"It's okay Amanda, your mother was so sweet and sincere; believe me it's nice to finally have a family which cares and wants to help!" he sincerely said as he gave her hand an extra squeeze.

She smiled at her husband and lovingly stated, "She'll see when we are all moved and settled."

"I'll call a contractor and get them started on her apartment. I'll get movers to come and pack up our places and get us in the house soon.

"I'll work on our invitations at lunch today. Have you sent your uncle one?"

"No, I don't even know where he is stationed at," He hated to admit this information.

"What?!" Lee, it's too late now to mail your uncle one even if you could figure it out." She was genuinely disappointed; but then continued brighter, "Why don't you give him a call. I know he would be delighted to hear from you!"

"I'll skip, besides the Colonel doesn't go to weddings. He wouldn't come anyways."

"Oh you don't know, the Colonel's not as bad as you make on," she replied with a chuckle.

_It's easier to feel this way than to ask and get a no! H_e thought to himself.

"I'll see if I can get a hold of him," he told his wife and gave her a small smile.

"What are you going to wear for the wedding?" He asked to change the subject.

"I'll just wear the suit I wore the first time," she replied practically.

"Why don't you go to Magda's Boutique and pick out something?" He suggested.

"Oh no, I couldn't! For one thing I just couldn't face her and besides her stuff is expensive."

"I think it would be a good idea, Amanda. Give her a try, please!" he asked pleadingly.

Amanda looked at her husband to see a sincere look on his face, and complacently replied, "Okay, for you I'll go and check her out."

**Tuesday July 2, 1987 The Agency,Q-Bureau **

Lee had spent all morning calling his contacts to find out any news on the terrorist groups, who were taking ownership for the bombings here, in Munich, or for both. So far he was coming up with nothing. _Usually these groups want to take credit for their terror, _he thought dismally. He had also been able to sneak in a few personal calls too. One he called a contractor, who would come out this weekend to look at the garage's attic. Secondly, he called the movers, who would be at the Maplewood house Saturday morning to move.

While Lee had been busy with phone calls, Amanda had been poring over the two bombings entail. She knew that Lee wasn't totally in agreement, but it looked like it had Karbala written all over it. She decided to go down to the bullpen to use their computers to see if she could find more details.

Since Amanda was out of the office, Lee called some places relating to their public wedding; which consisted of a photographer, a travel agent, and Magda's Boutique. He was feeling very pleased with his productivity.

Amanda, who was down in the bullpen, was getting frustrated with her research; which wasn't really mounting to anything concrete, when Duffy approached her and called her name. She looked up from the computer and greeted him with her trademark smile, "Hi Duffy," she said cheerfully.

"Hi Amanda, I was able to get a hold of the prison in East Germany and Addi Birol is still in the maximum security part of the prison."

Before hearing those words, Amanda didn't realize what a relief they would be. "Thanks Duffy. I appreciate you getting this information quickly," she replied.

"No problem," he said as he moved through the bullpen to his desk.

Amanda packed up her files and made her way back to the Q-Bureau where she would see if Lee wanted to go to lunch.

**Wed. July 3, 1987 The Agency, Billy's Office **

"What have you found out about the bombings?" Billy asked his two agents.

"The two bombings are definitely related, sir."

"No terrorist group is taking responsibility for them. None of our contacts have heard anything; not even a whisper," Lee said in frustration.

"I guess we'll have to set this aside for now, but keep your ears open to any entail out there."

"I've told our contacts to inform us immediately if they hear anything."

"Good! I've heard from Francine and she is in Houghton. There still is no sign of Von Eiger. Maybe he didn't go to Michigan after all. She said Copper Harbor was the end of the line, which she felt they should be able to finish the search by the end of the week. I told her and McMillan to take tomorrow off. Which reminds me; you two finish up any loose ends you have and get out of here until Friday morning."

Lee broke into a huge smile and replied excitedly, "Thanks Billy!" He turned and took Amanda by the hand and ushered her out of Billy's office before he changed his mind.

**Thurs. July 4, 1987 Rockville House, MD**

"This was a wonderful idea to have a cookout here this afternoon. It's so lovely and just think we'll be living here permanently before we know it," Bubbled Dotty to her family as she surveyed the back yard.

Lee and Amanda just shared a smile that brought sparkles to their eyes. The boys made faces at the affection Lee and their mother were showing each other, but inside they were very happy that he was going to join their family at the end of the month. "Yuck, come on Jamie let's go pitch some ball if they are going to be all mushy," Philip said in mock disgust while flashing a smile at the couple. Jamie moved from the table to the backyard with his brother.

Dotty came back to the table and sat down. "This patio with the built in grill and fire pit is just captivating; but this back yard that goes into the woods is to die for! Do you two mind if I make flower beds?"

Lee smiled and lovingly said, "Plant all you want Dotty; this is your home too. The contractor will be out Monday to look at the attic and to tell us when he can start."

Dotty smiled and said excitedly, "Oh, this really is too good to be true,"

"The movers will come to the Maplewood house Saturday morning at eight. I would like to come with the first load to show where things go and to start unpacking. Would you stay in Arlington Mother for when the movers return?"

"No problem dear. When will you move your things Lee?"

"This weekend the movers will move my large things which aren't much. After this weekend you guys will be all moved in," he excitedly stated while showing a huge smile which exposed the dimples in both cheeks.

"Amanda did you ever make it over to Magda's?"

She let out a sigh, "No I haven't, things have just been too busy. I'll do it next week."

"You should take Dotty with you. She might find something she likes too," Lee winked at his "bride" and gave a conspiratorial smile to his mother in law.

"Sounds like a good idea. I do want a new dress for the wedding."

"Hey, Lee, can you show me that pitch again; you know the one you showed me last week," Philip hollered from across the lawn.

"Sure thing chief," Lee called back. Rising from the table he smiled at his women and said, "I've got father duties to take care of!" which caused Amanda and Dotty to laugh in delight.

After an afternoon of playing catch with the boys, but mainly with Philip and working with Jamie on his photography; Lee was dozing on the floor in front of a small TV he had brought over. Philip and Jamie came into the room to see the news on, so they went to switch the channel. Without Philip or Jamie knowing Lee was awake, he stated, "Don't change that I'm listening to the news."

Both boys jumped and Philip said hotly, "Man Lee, you scared me half to death. You were sleeping anyways."

"Dozing. Big difference," Lee explained matter of factly as he sat up and stifled a yawn.

As they were having this exchange the news gave an update on the bombing in DC and Munich which didn't reveal anything else new about the events.

"Lee we've seen the Glockenspiel," an excited Jamie said as Amanda and Dotty brought in some lawn chairs to sit in.

"Yeah, I remember that trip. You guys were a lot smaller then," Lee said through a yawn.

Philip gave a curious look to Jamie that said what he is talking about while Amanda gave a panicked look to her mother.

"Um Lee, What do you mean you remember the trip? We didn't know you then," Jamie asked with curiosity.

"Oh I meant, I remembered your mom telling me about winning a trip to Munich," Lee stammered. Jamie gave Philip a knowing look of we can add this information to the growing pile of evidence to support Lee being a spy.

Dotty motioned for Amanda to follow her to the kitchen. On their way out of the room she asked, "Would anyone like something cold to drink?"

"If there is any more tea in the thermos I'll take some please," Lee called.

"I'll have a soda!"

"I'll have one too!"

"Now fellas I think you have had plenty for today," Amanda admonished in her famous mom voice.

"Aww, mom it's a holiday," both Philip and Jamie whined.

Lee taking the boys' side asked, "It is a holiday. It wouldn't hurt for just this day would it Amanda?" he finished with his trademark wink.

She gave her husband a smirk and added as she turned toward the kitchen, "I guess it won't hurt for this day."

Once she made it into the kitchen her mother approached and whispered, "Was Lee the business associate you ran into while we were in Munich?"

Amanda rolled her eyes as she admitted, "Yes!"

"Did the Agency tract you down to get your help?" Dotty asked in awe.

"Not exactly," Amanda replied as she started to get two sodas out of the cooler.

"What do you mean not exactly? Surely you can tell me some of it Amanda!" An incredulous Dotty huffed.

Amanda sighed and replied in a conspiratorial whisper, "They didn't have to track me down because they arranged for the trip."

"Why? Do you mean you didn't win that trip?"

"No, I didn't win; the Agency had it all arranged because they wanted us to just be tourists."

"You mean the Government paid for our whole family to go to Munich because they wanted you to look like a tourist?" Dotty said in disbelief.

"Yes, a woman with two kids and her own mother along definitely looks like a tourists."

"You knew all along?"

"Oh no, I thought that I had really won until Lee told me differently while he was briefing me on what the Agency needed me to do."

"Lee, I thought Mr. Melrose was in charge?"

"He is, but Lee until I went full time had mostly been my contact with jobs."

"Did you help?" Dotty asked with a smile.

"Yes we completed the mission."

"If that was a fake trip then, I don't suppose you meeting a Baron was real either?"

"Oh no, he was real all right. Actually he was the criminal. He is also the one who kidnapped us," Amanda quickly told her mother.

Dotty stood and looked at her daughter as this news sunk in. Dotty asked in a little lower of a voice, "Do you think he has anything to do with these bombings? I mean after all he is from Munich and he has been in the DC area," she shrugged her shoulders and went to pour three glasses of tea.

Amanda stood to ponder this a moment and then muttered, "It might be worth looking into." She took up the two sodas and followed her mom back to the family room.

**Fri. July 5, 1987 The Agency, Q-Bureau **

While Lee was away testifying at a congressional hearing on Capitol Hill, Amanda had pulled all the files and entail on the two bombings again. She had contacted the prison, which Von Eiger had served at, and the prison, that Birol was currently locked away in, to obtain the list of all prisoners since 1984. She had been told that it might take up to a week to receive the lists. She let out a long sigh as she stood up and walked over to the window to look out.

As she was taking in the street below, she didn't hear Lee enter the office. He saw the top of her desk and stopped to look at what his wife was doing. He saw the note about Von Eiger, Birol, and their prisons. He asked rather sharply, "Amanda what is this?"

A startled Amanda turned and snapped back, "I hate it when you do that!"

He looked up at his wife and offered an apologetic smile, while he replied, "Sorry," and then in a softer tone asked, "What is this? I thought Billy said to put it away for now? Did you hear something while I was gone?"

It was now Amanda's turn to smile at Lee's rapid fire questions as she answered her husband, "No we didn't get any new information, but Mother gave me an idea last night," she finished excitedly as she crossed the room.

"Your Mother!?" Lee asked in a perplexed voice.

"Yeah, remember when you slipped up about the Munich trip?"

"Hey, I thought that I covered that well," He said defensively.

"If you keep slipping up then we might as well tell the boys what we do for a living," She admonished.

"Okay, Okay, what idea did your mother give you," He hurriedly asked to change the subject.

"When she found out the trip was rigged she asked if there had ever really been a Baron or was he made up too. I told her he was real and that actually he was the one who had kidnapped us. She asked if he could be connected to the bombings since he was from Munich and had been in DC. I figured it wouldn't hurt to look." She stopped when she saw the look of disbelief cross her husband's face, so she quickly continued as she put her arms around his neck, "Listen Lee, I know that we don't agree, but there is something about this that makes me think Karbala. Plus, somewhere in that drug induced fog during the kidnapping I vaguely remember questions and comments about Birol, Karbala, and the Habib brothers." She could see this part of her admission was causing her husband to soften.

"What are you thinking?" Lee asked as he looked intently into his wife's eyes.

"I'm just asking you to let me look at the prisoners list from the two prisons to see if there could be a connection which links Von Eiger to Birol. If it turns up nothing I'll put it away until something new comes along."

"How long will it take?"

"It'll be about a week for me to receive the prison lists and then a day or two to compare them," Amanda said hopefully.

"Okay I'll agree to that, but in the meantime you'll have to work on current business."

Amanda kissed her husband on the cheek and whispered, "Thank you!"

He couldn't resist so he tightened his grip and pulled her closer as he thought, _I'd figure out a way to give her the moon if she ever asked for it._


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

**Fri. July 5, 1987 Maximum Security Prison, East Germany**

Addi Birol sat on his cot decoding a message Arem had handed him. It was another one from Von Eiger. About a month ago he had gotten a message from the Baron about his failed mission and that he was stuck in the US; this one explained he had now made it home and wanted out of the game.

Birol started to laugh and then he laughed harder, "Don't worry; you'll be out of the game my dear Baron, totally out of the game!"

He had been told through coded messages that the authorities were stumped as to who arranged the bombings. _Good let them be stumped and now I think I'm ready for another bombing_, he thought as he got out paper and envelopes to send messages to his Karbala operatives. He had hoped to have been out of prison by now, but he decided it was probably better to still lay low for a while longer. As long as he was in prison the authorities were most likely not connecting him to the bombings.

Birol started planning_; once I'm out of this place I'll eliminate Von Eiger first. Secondly, I'll hunt down Mira and Magda, who had betrayed him unmercifully. Finally, he would track down Stetson and his love and slowly kill them both,_ he thought menacingly.

**Saturday July 6, 1987 Copper Harbor**

Francine and Micah seemed to have some success in Copper Harbor. They had discovered that Von Eiger had stayed at the Broadway Inn a few weeks ago. As they walked along the side walk in another po-dunk town as Francine so fondly referred to them she exclaimed, "Seems that we are always a step behind this guy. Hopefully we can find him and get back to civilization soon."

McMillan on the other hand was finding the town very quaint and inviting. He finally admitted out loud, "I'm going to come back to the Upper Peninsula when I take a vacation."

"You do that, but I don't know what could draw you here. There is absolutely nothing to do! Now Paris, Rome, even New York City are places worth visiting."

"I assume it all depends on what you like, Franny," McMillan said as he winked at his partner.

"Don't call me that," she snapped and then continued hotly, "tell me one thing that's worth coming back to see."

"Well the Tahquamenon Falls were beautiful, which to me are worth coming back to see and the museum at Whitefish Point would be interesting also."

"You think those ugly brown waterfalls were beautiful. Who wants to see dirty water?" she complained in disgust.

"It's not dirty water, Franny; the water's brown because the acid from the pine trees makes its way into the water and gives it that look," McMillan stated in a matter of fact voice.

Francine wanted to bodily harm Micah for calling her Franny, and while her look portrayed this, Micah only gave her a mischievous grin.

"I think we should have taken a more through look in the Porcupine Mountains. What if he was hiding out there?"

"I think he's trying to get into Canada and hiding in the forest is not going to get him there."

As they neared the harbor McMillan exclaimed, "The harbor is absolutely beautiful! Maybe we should take a ride out on the lake to check things out."

Francine let out a sigh, "Come on, let's see if any of these businesses along the wharf has seen this guy."

Francine and McMillan walked into Hal's One Stop and walked up to the clerk. The young lady asked pleasantly as she smiled warmly, "May I help you?"

Francine took the picture out of her purse, laid it on the counter for the young lady to see and asked, "Have you seen this man?"

The clerk named, Caitlyn, picked the picture up to get a closer view of it. As she studied it intently she replied, "It's hard to know for sure, but he does seem similar to a man I sold a wet suit to."

Francine and Micah switched to agent mode very quickly, "How long ago was this and is he still in town?"

Caitlyn looked up at the two customers and asked, "How do I know I should be giving you any information?"

The two took out their badges and handed them to her. Caitlyn took them to study and she turned to the phone, picked it up and called the police department. When the police dispatcher answered Caitlyn explained, "Hazel, I have two people here with badges saying they are Federal agents, could you send someone over who can verify? Okay thanks." She turned back to Francine and Micah to answer their questioning looks, "How do I know if these are real. A police officer will be here in a minute."

Francine could not believe this so she vocalized her disgust, "Do you really know who you are dealing with?"

"I know that I have the right to council before I talk."

"You have watched too many police and detective shows!"

"I think you did the right thing, Miss. Always question the authority of badges because there are too many people who would take advantage with fake ones," Micah said sincerely as he looked the young girl in the eyes.

"Caitlyn."

"Excuse me?"

"My name's Caitlyn, Mr. McMillan. You can call me Caitlyn."

"Okay Caitlyn, but only if you call me Micah," he replied with a smile.

"Deal," she smiled warmly back.

"Now that we have the introductions out of the way, can we get back to business?"

Francine huffed.

"Doesn't seem like we have anything to do until the police get here, Franny," Micah winked at Francine. He turned his attentions back to Caitlyn, "Don't worry she's normally friendly like this;" he continued as he leaned on the counter and started asking about life in the Upper Peninsula.

Francine started pacing the store. After about five minutes she couldn't take any more and snapped, "Where is this police officer?"

"Today's Saturday, Miss, and the Chief always goes fishing," Caitlyn said matter of factly as if this explained the situation, and she turned her attention back to Micah.

Francine quickly turned when she heard the door open, but let out a sigh when she saw it was just another civilian.

"Hey, Jake, what can I do for you," Caitlyn asked cheerily to the new arrival.

"I need a new fishing pole," he replied as he made his way over to the poles on the far wall, "I'll just look for a few minutes."

Micah used this moment to make his way over to Francine, "Franny, why don't you go and ask at the other businesses while I wait for the police officer to get here."

"Okay, I'll head on down this dock and ask around. If he bought a wet suit maybe he rented a boat too," Francine said hopefully. She then added, "I swear if you don't stop calling me Franny I'm going to do bodily harm," and she walked out the door without looking back.

Micah just smiled to himself as he said, "She's crazy about me!"

Francine made her way from one business to another with no success of anyone recognizing the Baron. She came to the last shop on the marina called Pete's Fleet. Opening the door she made her way into the dark, smelly office. Trying to maintain her professionalism she mustered the courage to force the food back into her stomach, which was forcibly trying to escape. Putting on a fake smile she handed the picture to the clerk and asked, "Have you seen this man recently?"

"Yeah, I rented him a boat a few weeks ago."

"Do you know where he is now? Is he still in town?" she asked hopefully.

"Nope, he drowned!"

"He WHAT!" Francine asked in disbelief as the smile fell from her face.

"A couple buddies of mine found the boat in the middle of the lake with the life jacket in it, so we assumed he drowned. I gave him a life jacket and told him to make sure he wore it. I don't care if you are a Olympic gold medalists you need to wear a life jacket on a boat."

Francine let out a sigh. She could not believe this! She had traipsed all over the Upper Peninsula to found out Von Eiger had drowned. She calmly asked, "Are you sure he drowned? Has his body been found?"

The clerk chuckled at this question and replied, "Clearly you're not from around here because you would know Lake Superior is so cold she doesn't give up her dead."

"Did anyone drag for the body?"

"In Lake Superior? It's the deepest lake, it would be about near impossible too!"

"If he had a wet suit on could he swim to shore?"

Pete thought for a moment then said hesitantly, "I suppose he could have; it would depend on how well he swims and how close he could get the boat to shore. Wet suits work okay, but they still don't keep you from getting cold in Lake Superior. What are all these questions about him for anyway?" Pete asked while holding up the picture.

"Sorry I can't tell you, but you have been extremely helpful," she replied as she snatched the picture from his fingers. She smiled as she turned and walked out the door.

She made her way back to Hal's One Stop where she assumed Micah was still flirting with the young store clerk. As she walked through the door she noticed the police officer had finally arrived. Walking over to Micah and the officer she handed him her badge.

"Agent McMillan and Agent Desmond your badges look legit. I'm Officer Chris Robinson. What can our office do for you?"

Francine looked around to see Caitlyn watching them with great interest. "Could we take this conversation back to your office?"

"Sure come on. I'll give you a ride," Officer Robinson said in a friendly tone. He waved to Caitlyn and called out as the three walked through the door, "Thanks for calling Caitlyn, don't let this get around town!"

"Okay, Chris, I won't!

Francine and McMillan were sitting in the Chief of Police's office sharing the various pictures of Baron Von Eiger. Francine turned to her partner and started bringing him up to speed, "Von Eiger rented a boat from Pete's Fleet a few weeks ago. A fisherman found the boat stranded in the middle of the lake with the life jacket in it. They assume he drowned."

"But we know he had a wet suit," Micah added.

"Exactly, so could he have swum to the Canadian shore?"

"Could be probable, but highly unlikely." Officer Robinson added.

"I need to call my superior," Francine stated and Officer Robinson slid the phone to her.

"Would you like some coffee?"

"They both answered a resounding, "Yes, please!"

As Chris left to make coffee, Francine picked up the phone and dialed Billy. Finally, Billy answered the phone and she explained their findings. She ended with, "Maybe we should see if he has went through the Canadian airports and check his chalet in Munich."

"I'll get a search started with the Canadian airports and get our agent in Munich to check the Von Eiger house. You and McMillan see if you can pinpoint the location the boat was found and drag the lake!"

"Billy, I'm told it's useless to drag Lake Superior," Francine said tiredly.

"Do it Francine! We need to cover all the bases. Call me back with what you find!"

"Okay," Francine said dejectedly as she hung up the phone.

Chris came back with three cups of coffee on a tray with cream and sugar. After handing out the coffee he asked, "Did you get a hold of your boss?"

After swallowing her sip of coffee, Francine replied, "He wants us to locate where the abandoned boat was found and drag the area."

"Lake Superior is over a thousand feet deep, that's near impossible!"

"I guess we will try anyways and we are going to need your help." She finished her coffee and rose out of her chair. Commenting to her companions she stated, "Well, Gentlemen, it looks like a beautiful day for a boat ride!"

After going back to Pete's Fleet, the three law enforcers were able to obtain the names of the fishermen who found the boat. Fortunately, the fishermen were at their boat dock cleaning their fleet when they located them. The two agents let Officer Robinson do the talking, "Hey Larry, Chuck, and Daryl," Chris said in a friendly tone.

"Hey Chris, what can we do for you?" Larry replied as he looked Francine and Micah over.

These two are interested in seeing the area where you found Pete's boat floating," Chris explained as he nodded his head in the agents' direction. "Would at least one of you be willing to go out with us to give the location?"

"Sure thing, I'll go," Larry quickly offered as he jumped out of his boat. Turning to his brothers he asked, "Either of you want to go?"

"No, you go ahead," they both expressed.

"So why are you interested in this guy?"

"Sorry, Mr…," Francine realized she didn't know who she was addressing.

"Larry, everyone just calls me Larry."

"Okay, Larry. I'm sorry we can't really share the details, but we appreciate your willingness to assist us," She smiled sincerely.

The group made their way to the police department boat. After climbing in they put their life jackets on and took their seats as Chris stirred the boat out of the harbor.

After about an hour out, Larry yelled, "This is the area." Chris cut the engine and let the boat come to an idle.

After dragging the lake in a five mile radius in all directions from the initial location Francine admitted, "Let's call it quits; I don't think we're going to find a body."

"The problem is the lake is so deep and cold that dead bodies don't float. We would have to bring specialized diving equipment out here," Police Officer Robinson explained.

As the senior agent, Francine made the call; "We've been out here for five hours, let's head back in."

Larry started the boat's engine and headed back to shore.

"We really appreciate your help, Larry;" Micah sincerely said.

"My pleasure. I'm just sorry you couldn't find who you were looking for."

"Me too, Larry, me too!" Francine said with a sigh while nodding her head.

After eating supper with Micah and Chris, Francine returned to her motel room exhausted. She made a call to Billy, but not expecting him to still be at the agency she left a message with the night operator. Now she just had to wait for Billy to call back with further instructions.

**Sunday July 7, 1987 Rockville House, MD**

"And the convoy in front of us blew up. We ended up getting blown off our truck into the brush. We waited until the Viet Cong had passed and we made our way through the jungle. We finally made it to this village where all the young women…"

"Lee, don't you think that is as far as this story needs to go?" Amanda asked with one raised eyebrow.

Dotty laughingly added, "I remember you entertaining us with that story while Amanda was recovering in California."

"Oh mom, how can you make him stop it now!" Philip exclaimed.

"Sorry, Amanda, I should have picked another one," Lee reached over and patted her hand.

"How long were you in Vietnam?" Dotty asked as she started cleaning up from supper.

"A year."

"Were you a war correspondent?" Jamie asked.

"No, I had to enlist in one of the armed forces for extensive training as part of my job. I chose the Marines and served a year before I started my specific training," Lee explained casually and chanced a glance at Amanda to see her looking at him wide eyed.

He looked at her puzzled not realizing his slip. He looked at the boys and got a smile on his face, snapped his fingers and pointed one at them exclaiming, "I know just the story you fellas will like. One summer I had to do an internship at the Nymphenburg Castle in Munich. This German chauffer and I became fast friends. We decided that we wanted to take a trip into…"

Before he got too involved with his story, Amanda stood and started stacking the dirty plates together; while she looked at him she pointedly said, "Make sure this story stays appropriate for a twelve and fourteen year old."

"It will, I promise. There are no women in this story," He winked at his wife while he put his hand over his heart.

Walking into the kitchen, Amanda started helping her mother clean up. It had been a full weekend of moving. All of the Maplewood belongings were here. Since Lee had talked her into getting new kitchen appliances and living room furniture with the intent of giving the old to her mother; these were placed in the garage, while the new furniture and appliances were to be delivered Monday morning.

Dotty started rattling on about how much they had accomplished in the past two days and about how excited she was to eventually have her own place. While her mother rambled on and on, Amanda had started to tune her out and was thinking about the wedding details she and Lee needed to finalize. She was so deep in thought she didn't realized her mother had asked a question and was waiting for an answer. She finally looked at her mother and noticed she was staring at her. Amanda finally gathered her thoughts and asked, "Were you saying something Mother?"

Dotty started laughing, "You are a million miles away, Amanda; but with all the changes going on in your life I would suspect you would be," she came over and patted her daughter on her arm. Amanda turned, gave her mother a hug, and a soft smile. "Thank you," She whispered into her mother's ear.

While they were still hugging they heard laughter coming from the dining room with Philip exclaiming, "Is that the truth, Lee?"

"Cross my heart that is exactly how it happened?"

"I don't know it sounds too farfetched," Jamie added with disbelief.

"That's how it happened. Let's see if we can help your mom and grandma."

The three guys came into the kitchen with glasses, napkins, and chips in hand. Lee looked around the kitchen, nodded his head in approval while he praised their work, "You two have done a remarkable job with the kitchen!"

"Thank you!" both Amanda and Dotty replied.

Dotty glanced at the clock and saw that it was nine o'clock, "I'm beat. I think I'll go soak in a long hot bath. I think I'll read after that for a while."

"Okay Mother, enjoy!" Amanda said as her mother kissed her on the cheek, patted Lee on his cheek, and headed up the stairs.

"Mom there's a movie on, can we watch it?"

"Sure, but then its bedtime!"

"Thanks," both boys exclaimed as they headed to the den.

"Let's go sit on the patio and talk, Amanda."

"Sounds great, it is a lovely night."

Going outside the couple looked up into the night sky. "Look at all those stars! You don't get this good of a view in the city," she exclaimed in awe.

"It sure is lovely!"

Sitting down in the patio chairs, they just continued to look to the sky in companionable silence. Finally, Amanda broke the silence, "I think I'll take Wednesday off and get some wedding details taken care of. Mother and I will go see Magda, order a small cake, check with the caterer, and make sure the tables and chairs are reserved."

"Sounds like a good plan," Lee replied while he smiled at his wife and took her hand to bring it to his lips. He placed a feather light kiss on the back of it and gave her a loving wink.

"It's hard to believe the house is almost in shape."

"All that's really left is hanging pictures and those sorts of things."

"I'll take care of the office; hopefully next weekend. Billy's going to set us up with a computer and a separate phone line which links with the Agency. We'll put a phone in the office and one in the main living area that connects to the Agency. We'll keep the door locked at all times."

"That sounds great. It'll be nice to do research at home. You know, if you keep slipping up you are going to tell the boys what we do."

"Maybe it's time we tell them, they're not babies anymore. We could give them some training in self-defense."

"We can do that without telling them what we do."

"Just think about it, huh," he said giving her hand a small squeeze.

The back door opened, Philip stuck his head out, and told the couple, "The movie's over, good night."

"Good night, sweetheart."

"Good night, Philip."

After Philip had headed up the stairs Lee yawned, "I guess I had better get going, we have a seven o'clock meeting."

"Stay the night," Amanda smiled softly.

Lee looked at his wife for a moment, shook his head and softly replied, "Don't tempt me, Amanda. It's only a few more weeks. I'll pick you up around six thirty." He rose from his chair and pulled her up too.

"I can drive to work. I hate for you to drive way out here."

"I don't mind. I'll get to see you sooner and longer," he huskily replied and pulled her in for a long lingering kiss that left them wanting more.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

**Mon. July 8, 1987 Broadway Inn Copper Harbor, MI **

Francine sat pool side in a lounge chair sipping ice tea while reading a magazine. She had to admit this was relaxing; maybe that's what she needed a vacation. Hopefully Jonathon would be available. Who was she kidding, this was the first she had thought of Jonathon in the last two weeks. The truth was she wasn't sure he was right for her. She hated to admit that she longed for a relationship like Lee and Amanda's; just not as mundane and normal.

Billy had gotten in touch last night to inform her and Micah that they needed to stay until he had information from the Canadian officials and their agent in Munich. She had not been thrilled with the news for she was ready to get home to her own bed. Micah on the other hand was thrilled with the thought of spending time with Caitlyn. He was doubly thrilled when he found out she had today off. He had risen early this morning to pack in a full day with the pretty girl.

Closing the magazine, Francine laid it on the table by her lounge chair. She closed her eyes to take a little nap. After what had seemed like only a few moments, she was suddenly startled awake when cold water splashed her. "What the…" she yelled and trailed off when she saw a little boy of about six standing next to her laughing. When he noticed her looking at him, he stopped and looked at her with the largest chocolate brown eyes she had ever seen. She felt at a loose as what to say or do.

"Tommy, there you are! I've told you not to come near the pool by yourself!"

Francine looked up to see a petite brunette coming for her son. Taking him by the hand she looked at Francine and apologized, "I'm really sorry, Miss!" Turning to her son she said, "Now, tell the nice lady you're sorry for splashing her with water!"

Tommy looked at his mother, then back at Francine, and seriously stated, "I'm not sorry mommy. It was fun seeing her jump."

"Thomas Andrew, you apologize right now!"

Francine couldn't help but smile at the obstinate child being called by his proper name, which was the universal sign of being in trouble.

Tommy dipped his head and mumbled, "I'm sorry!"

Francine couldn't help but smile and pat the rogue on the head while she sincerely replied, "Apology accepted."

Tommy looked at her and gave her a lopsided smile, which she couldn't stop herself from returning.

"Sorry again for any inconvenience," Tommy's mom said.

Francine waved off the apology with, "It's no big deal. Forget about it!"

Tommy and his mom made their way from the pool while Francine checked the time. It was four in the afternoon, wow where had the time flown!

Francine laid back on the lounge and chuckled at the mischievous Tommy. _He sure was cute,_ she thought. She stopped herself right there, her Francine Desmond, thinking a kid was cute, now that was a first. She then let out a long sigh not sure why she was having these types of thoughts today. _I guess I'm ready to be home,"_ she thought. Gathering up her stuff she made her way to her motel room to think about dinner.

**Wed. July 10, 1987 Rockville House, MD**

Amanda and her mother sat at the kitchen table with papers strewn all over studying their errand list for the day. "Nice that the boys get to spend the day with their dad, he should do that more often," Dotty said as she picked up the guest list and started counting. Twenty-five people including their family. She looked over the guest list again, frowned, and commented, "Lee's uncle isn't on the list?"

"I don't think he invited him," Amanda said sadly without looking up from her list."

"Why wouldn't he want to invite the man who raised him?"

Amanda stopped what she was doing, looked at her mother, and pondered for a moment before responding, "Lee and his uncle have a unique relationship. Although they both respect and love each other in their own ways, they just haven't had a close relationship. I think Lee is afraid his uncle wouldn't think it was important enough to come, so it's easier not to ask. I thought about tracking his uncle down myself, but I thought Lee might not like the interference."

Dotty patted her daughter's hand and gave some motherly advice, "I think you did the right thing. Once you are married then I think you can take a lead with keeping in touch with his uncle."

"I've thought that too, Mother."

"Where are we heading first?" Dotty asked to lighten the mood.

"I think to Clair's Bakery."

"I'll go get my shoes and purse," She replied as she headed up the stairs.

Amanda pulled the Wagoneer into a parking spot in front of Clair's Bakery, which was owned by a friend from the Arlington Schools PTA. Cutting the engine to the Wagoneer, Amanda and Dotty got out and went into the bakery.

Opening the door they walked in, and as they were looking around, they saw a display with a variety of cakes in it. Walking over to the glass case they started talking excitedly about what should be ordered.

"Oh, Amanda, that cake is beautiful!" Dotty exclaimed.

"And way too big! We are only having thirty people at the most."

"I bet it could be made smaller."

"I'm hoping for something a little simpler."

"This maybe your second wedding, Missy, but this is Lee's first."

"Well technically…" Amanda started, but was cut off when Clair made her appearance.

"Amanda! It has been forever since I've seen you," Clair gushed and gave her friend a hug. She continued, "I heard that your family moved to Maryland."

"Yes, we just moved to Rockville."

"We will hate to see your family leave Arlington, but it's such a beautiful area up there. Now what can I get for you?"

"I'm getting married the last Saturday of this month and I was interested in ordering a cake for about thirty people."

"Congratulations! This is exciting! Are you marrying the good looking gentleman that was coming to Philip and Jamie's school events this spring?"

Amanda smiled and replied, "Yes, his name is Lee Stetson."

"I'm happy for you and wish you the best!" Clair excitedly replied. "Is there a certain cake that you want?"

The three women spent the next hour deciding on what cake to order and how it should be decorated.

Amanda and Dotty sat at an outdoor table of the Tea Room eating salads. They ate in companionable silence as they rested from their morning's errands. Dotty finally broke the silence by asking, "Is Magda's the last place we need to go?"

Amanda sighed and reluctantly replied, "Yeah."

"Amanda why is it you don't want to go there? Are her dresses not your style? Why is Lee so adamant about you going?" Dotty asked in a confused voice.

"It's a long story, Mother, but I'm sure her dresses are lovely."

Dotty looked at her daughter and wondered for the umpteenth time about the things she had had to endure; and then had to keep it all bottled up. She then got a hopeful smile as the next thought came to mind; _At least she has Lee to share these things with._

They finished their salads talking about the upcoming wedding, apartment construction, and honeymoon plans.

"Where are you going on your honeymoon?"

"I don't know. Lee won't tell."

"He has to tell the Agency, doesn't he?" Dotty asked nervously.

"Not necessarily, agents disappear to work on their own things at times," Amanda replied thinking about the time Lee went for a week on his own assignment looking for a stolen list of his "family's" names.

Dotty looked around her and lowered her voice to a whisper, "What if someone grabs you two? How would we ever know?"

"Mother you can't live in fear !"

"That's not easy, Amanda. It was easier when I didn't know what you did. I would play games trying to guess where you were, what you were doing, and who you were with; but now I know it's not a game!"

Amanda reached over and patted her mother on the hand and replied, "I'll talk to Lee and see if he will at least give you a number to reach us at." This brought a smile to Dotty's face. "How about we go check out some dresses?"

Amanda sat in the parking lot of Magda's Boutique collecting her thoughts and nerves. _What does bother me so much about coming here? _She thought. She hadn't thought about Magda in years after helping with her defection, and then Lee had brought her in on her rescue from Birol. Amanda gave a shudder as those memories came flooding back.

Dotty watched her daughter as she saw unexplainable emotions cross her face and she couldn't help but say with compassion, "Amanda if this is too hard we can go somewhere else!"

This brought Amanda out of her thoughts; she smiled weakly at her mother and replied, "No Lee, would be disappointed if we didn't give her a try. Come on let's go!"

The two women got out of the Wagoneer and walked into the shop. The bell above the door chimed and Magda walked from the backroom.

When she saw who her customer was, she immediately came forward and clasped Amanda by the hands and exclaimed in broken English, "Amanda, I'm so glad you came. I hear congratulations are in order! I knew that you and Lee cared for each other when I observed you at your house together." Amanda looked and noticed that Magda had on a sincere smile.

"Ah…uh…yes. I'm looking for a dress for our wedding," Amanda stuttered.

"I have something with just your name on it; I'll be right back," Magda disappeared to the backroom and reemerged with a dress bag in hand. She laid it on the counter as the other two women came closer.

Dotty noticed the tag and exclaimed, "It does have your name on it, Amanda!" for the tag read, Amanda King. "Amanda take the dress out!" an excited Dotty continued.

Magda helped Amanda remove the bag from the dress to reveal a Dana Bolton original. Amanda's eyes widened as she looked at Magda and gasped, "How did you know?"

While Dotty at the same time replied, "Amanda it is beautiful, so simple, and totally you!" Dotty drank in the dress made of creamy white satin with a plunging scooped neckline, while the skirt fell to the floor. It could almost be considered sleeveless with only small pieces of lace covering the top of the shoulders. Turning the dress around Dotty revealed that the back was completely open. "Lee is going to faint seeing you in this!"

Magda laughed, "Lee called last week wanting me to locate this dress; something about knowing you looked beautiful in it."

Dotty stopped looking at the dress, turned toward Amanda realizing there was a story behind this dress, and hoped her daughter would share.

Amanda couldn't help, but reach out and touch the dress as the memories came flooding back. While she started reflecting, she smiled as she spoke her memories out loud, "I had to go to London to help Lee. My luggage got lost so he took me shopping. He talked me into trying this dress on and he really liked how it looked. He wanted to get me this for a formal event, but I wouldn't let him spend that much money; so we settled on a different dress." Amanda stopped when she realized that she was talking out loud.

"Oh, how romantic!" Dotty swooned.

"Now he gets to see you get married in it!"

"How much do I owe you?"

"Nothing for this dress. It's a gift from me," Magda explained.

"Oh, no, I can't accept it, it's too much," Amanda replied.

"Please, I owe Lee and you much."

Amanda couldn't believe what she was hearing; _how could Magda say that she owed her when it was Amanda who owed Magda her life?_

Amanda tried again, "You risked your life…"

"So did you Amanda for me…"Magda let the statement hang and then continued, "Let's call us even."

Amanda hardly thought it could be even. She herself had sacrificed what; her home, some sandwiches, and coffee. While Magda herself had slept with the enemy to ensure her rescue; but for Lee she would accept.

"Magda, I don't know where to begin to say thank you," Amanda smiled.

"Accepting it is thank you enough. Oh, I almost forgot there's something for you Mrs. West," after Magda exclaimed this she disappeared again to the backroom. She reemerged with another dress and with her sister, Mira in tow.

"Lee picked this dress out and paid for it the other day when he was in," she explained as she removed the dress from its protective covering.

"Oh my gosh," both Amanda and Dotty exclaimed together.

"It's beautiful," Dotty replied as she felt the lightweight chiffon in a regency color. It was off the shoulder, came mid-calf, and had a corset back. "I can't believe…he's got…oh my…" Dotty was speechless.

Mira spoke up also in broken English, "Amanda I have a gift for Lee," and she held out a package to Amanda.

"Shouldn't you give this to him yourself, Mira?"

"Oh no! It's for you to wear, but definitely a gift for Lee!" Mira said while she smiled mischievously.

"Oh!" is all a wide eyed Amanda could reply as a knowing look crossed her face.

Dotty couldn't help but laugh at her daughter. How a person, who had been married twice with two teenage boys, could be so naïve in this area was baffling.

Gathering up the gifts and expressing their thanks Amanda and Dotty headed back to the Wagoneer. In the parking lot Amanda spotted Francine walking towards them.

"Francine, when did you get back in town?" Amanda spoke up first.

"Last night and boy is it great to be back in civilization!" She replied dramatically.

Amanda laughed and couldn't help saying, "that much of a hardship was it? How did McMillan survive being paired with you?"

"Oh, he loved it! He wants to go back up there on vacation. Actually he stayed a couple of extra days since we don't have to be back until Monday. Of course it helps he found a cute girl up there," Francine rattled off.

Amanda laughed again, "Micah did always enjoy the outdoor assignments when we were in class together. Since he's from Montana, I would suspect the remote areas would appeal to him more any ways."

"Montana! I didn't know he was from there. No wonder he enjoys the Upper Peninsula; it is probably more of a metropolis than Montana!" Francine laughed.

Francine noticed the name on Amanda's dress bag and exclaimed, "A Dana Bolton original! Amanda, I didn't know you had any exquisite taste. Dana Bolton runs me a month's salary, I would have never expected you to be able to afford one! But, then again a girl only gets married once!" Francine looked at Amanda realizing her slip and she quickly added, "or twice. I had better get going. See you later."

Amanda let a sigh escape as she closed her eyes, shook her head, and then took a deep breath.

"You work with her?"

"Yes!"

"Is she coming to the wedding?" Dotty adventured to ask.

"Yes," Amanda sighed, "she's a good friend of Lee's," is all she volunteered as she started walking towards the car.

Amanda sat on the couch trying to make order of Lee's expense account and receipts. Her mother was working in the flower gardens out front. The boys were still with their dad, but should be home shortly. Amanda yawned and her eyelids started to drift shut. _Maybe I'll just close them for a few minutes. I can't really do a good job on this account if I'm tired,_ she thought. Before she knew it she was lying on the couch sound asleep.

Jamie had been home for about two hours now from a visit with his dad. His dad had actually spent the whole day with them without having to go into work. Once they had gotten home, their grandmother put them to work with her in the flower gardens. She had finally decided that they had accomplished enough for the day. After they had cleaned up the tools and garden supplies, he had come inside to find his mother asleep, which he thought was odd for the middle of the day. His grandmother had made her way to the kitchen to start supper and Philip had gone upstairs to call Debbie.

Sitting in a chair across from his mother, Jamie noticed papers on the coffee table. His curiosity got the better of him so he moved over to look through them. While he was absorbed in trying to figure out Lee's writing; his mother startled him when she started talking. Standing up quickly he was trying to formulate an explanation as to the reason why he was snooping, when he noticed that she was still asleep. He sat down on the coffee table and leaned in closer to hear better. After a while, he realized she must be quoting a poem, but not one that he was familiar with. She started to mumble a bunch of words that didn't make any sense to him: nightcrawler, source, I don't know, Scarecrow, and Lee. She then started the poem again. He tried to shake his mom awake, but she wouldn't budge. He sat there for what seemed like an eternity as his mother quoted through the poem and the sequence of words; by now she was sweating.

Philip came down the stairs, into the living room, and noticed that Jamie was looking intently at their mother lying on the couch. Coming up behind his brother he asked, "What's going on?" He then noticed his mother and asked in a concerned voice, "What's wrong with mom?"

Jamie explained that their mother was quoting a poem and a sequence of words over and over while sweating like crazy.

"Let's try to wake her!"

"I've already tried, but I can't get her to wake up."

Dotty from the kitchen noticed her grandsons next to their mother. Afraid they were going to wake Amanda, she went into the living room. She stopped short when she heard Amanda's voice, "…I stood repeating, Tis some visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door-some late visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door; This it is and nothing more."

Dotty was standing stock still, white as a ghost when Philip noticed his grandmother was in the room, and asked, "What's going on?"

Before Dotty could think up a plausible explanation; Amanda yelled out, "Scarecrow!" while bolting upright on the couch. With her family staring at her Amanda sat there shaking with erratic heart beats while her breath came in ragged spurts.

"Mom!" both boys exclaimed.

Amanda looked from her boys to her mother while trying to figure out was going on. Her dream had seemed so real; but here she was safe in her own house with her family around her. Frantically looking around she didn't see Lee, "Lee?" She squeaked out.

"He should be here anytime, dear." Dotty replied sympathetically.

Noticing her boys looked scared Amanda quickly replied, "I must have been dreaming."

"More like a nightmare," Jamie challenged.

"You know how dreams are Jamie. They can seem so real," Amanda hoped this lame excuse pacified her curious son.

Dotty stepped in to help her daughter with, "Why don't you boys go set the patio table for supper."

Amanda mouthed a thank you to her mother.

After the boys were out of earshot, Dotty whispered, "I don't care if I ever hear that poem again. Do you need to talk?" She offered as she sat down next to her daughter to put a comforting arm around her.

"No, I don't need to talk," Amanda quickly asserted.

"Amanda, I know you went through a lot…" She stopped not wanting to say the word, but she made herself continue, "Being tortured. It was hard watching. I just want you to know that I am here for you."

Amanda looked at her mother knowing she was concerned and cared; she knew she would be if this was Philip or Jamie. Wanting to calm her mother's fears Amanda patted her on the arm and expressed, "It's not what you think. I'll be okay," she added a weak smile to her face.

Not being convinced, Dotty tried again, "You could talk to Lee."

"NO! And don't tell him about this," Amanda insisted with wide eyes.

Dotty not wanting to show how scared she was, tried as calmly as she could muster, to reply with, "Of course Dear, I won't."

Amanda reached over and gave her mother a hug, and Dotty returned the embrace with all the feeling of wanting to hang on for dear life.

At that moment, Philip and Jamie came in from the back yard bringing Lee with them. They were in the middle of a conversation, "So I won the bet and obtained three tickets to the Orioles game Friday night. You two want to go?"

"Yeah!" they both said in unison.

Lee, noticing Dotty and Amanda in the living room, went to see how their shopping went. The closer he came to the two; he took in Amanda's damp hair, rumbled clothes, and the concern written on Dotty's face. He stopped and quickly asked, "Everything okay?"

Both Amanda and Dotty jumped; Amanda quickly admonished her husband, "Oh Lee you startled us!"

He smiled softly and replied with concern evident in his voice, "Sorry. Is everything okay, Amanda?"

Standing up she came over to give her husband a hug and kiss, "I was just dreaming, but everything is fine now!"

Lee wanted to challenge her as to whether she had had another nightmare, but her appearance already told him the answer. Instead he let it ride figuring she would talk when she was ready. Giving her husband another kiss she said softly, "The dress you picked is as beautiful as I remembered, thank you!"

Lee couldn't help smiling and getting a twinkle in his eyes. Kissing his wife back he whispered, "Your welcome. I can't wait to see it on you!"

Breaking apart Amanda added as she left the room, "I'm going to go get cleaned up for supper."

Dotty got up from the couch, came over, and kissed Lee on the cheek, "Thank you, son, for the beautiful dress!"

Lee gave his mother in law a huge smile and sheepishly replied, "My pleasure!"

Dotty saw Amanda coming back down the stairs and exclaimed, "Supper's ready, let's eat!"

"Great, I'm starved," Lee offered exuberantly while he put his arm around Amanda's waist and continued, "After supper we should see what the contractors have done in Dotty's place."

With excitement the family gathered up the food and headed to the patio to enjoy the meal together.

Later that night after dinner and seeing the beginning construction on Dotty's apartment, Lee and Amanda made a few minutes to be alone.

"Von Eiger made it back to Germany through Canada. Our agent in Munich confirmed activity in his chalet, but has not seen the Baron specifically. They are just going to stake out the house for now so he isn't spooked into running while we gather more evidence. The German Government won't extradite him back to the US." A shudder ran over Amanda, and he put a protective arm around her as he pulled her close, "we'll get him, Amanda. You just wait, we'll get him!" He wasn't sure who he was making the vow to, himself or his wife.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

**Sat. July 13, 1987 Rockville House, MD**

Dotty was up early because she was leaving in an hour with Captain Curt, who was her flying instructor and friend, for a day-trip to Virginia Beach. As she made her way down the stairs and headed toward the kitchen to make coffee, she stopped when she noticed Lee and Amanda asleep on the couch with Amanda tucked protectively in his arms. Dotty couldn't help but smile. She quietly tip toed to the kitchen lest she wake them up.

Dotty trying to be as quiet as a mouse accidently dropped a metal measuring spoon in the sink, which made a loud clanking noise. Hearing the noise jolted Lee awake, and put him on high alert. Grabbing the gun from his ankle holster, he jumped over the back of the couch with his gun at the ready. As he stealthily moved toward the noise; Dotty turned around, saw a gun trained on her, and let out a scream.

Lee quickly sighed, dropped the gun to his side, and gently whispered, "Dotty, it's me, Lee!"

"What are you doing with that gun, Son?" She gasped out.

"I heard a noise. Sorry it's instinct," He replied in an apologizing tone.

"I'm sorry too, I dropped the measuring spoon in the sink," She quickly explained.

As Lee put his gun back into his ankle holster, Dotty asked, "Do you always carry a gun?"

"Sure do! My life could depend on it!" He quickly asserted without looking up.

As he was rising back up, Dotty continued, "Don't you get tired of living like this? Always being cautious, having to look over your shoulder, having secrets? How can you ever trust anyone?"

As Lee sat down on a stool at the kitchen island, Dotty poured coffee for the both of them, putting a generous amount of half-n-half in his coffee. She handed a cup to him and took a seat herself.

"Amanda asked me that once," Lee smirked as he thought on the memory of the moment.

Dotty realizing he was remembering some memory he shared with Amanda, remained silent. Finally she asked, "What did you tell her?"

"That it was a tough job, but someone had to do it and I happened to do it well! To be honest Dotty, you don't have many friends in this business. A person could be your friend for the moment, and stab you in the back the next if it met their agenda. I didn't trust many people before Amanda came into my life, but slowly she showed me how to trust and love."

"Sounds like a lonely life," Dotty said in a sober voice.

He smiled at how much Amanda was like her mother, "It was, but not anymore."

Dotty patted Lee's hand, smiled softly, and sweetly replied, "I'm glad, Son! It seems like you need us as much as we need you."

He gave his mother in law a grin, "You bet!"

He let out a long sigh as he took another sip of coffee. He realized how early it was so he ventured to ask Dotty, "How come you're up so early?"

"Captain Curt is picking me up in thirty minutes. We're going to fly down to Virginia Beach for the day," she explained as she took another sip of her coffee.

"How was the game? What time did you get home?"

"The game was great. We had prime seats and the Orioles won. We got home around one this morning."

He stopped, took another sip of coffee, and looked back at Dotty again, "I didn't plan on staying. When we got here, Amanda was dreaming. It took a while to get her awake and then it took a while longer to calm her down. She asked me to stay until she went back to sleep, but I must have fallen asleep too."

"Nightmare you mean!" Dotty soberly replied. "I'm beginning to hate the Raven."

Lee let out a sigh as he ran his left hand through his hair, "I'm not sure what these nightmares are about. I wish she would talk about it."

"Hopefully she will with time," Dotty softly smiled. She rose from the stool, took her cup to the sink, and said with a sparkle in her eye, "I had better get my things together for my date!" She moved over and gave Lee a kiss on the cheek.

He chuckled, shook his head, and added, "Have a wonderful time!" as Dotty made her way up the stairs and out of sight. He looked at the clock and notice it was time to wake sleeping beauty for work.

**Same Day Agency, Q-Bureau **

Amanda stifled a yawn. Sleep had been rough these last several days. Going to see Magda had brought back memories of her kidnapping by Birol. She knew there was more to the kidnapping that she was blocking out. _Maybe if I could remember what it was, I could move past it, _she thought. She knew Lee and her mother were concerned, but she really didn't have much to talk about with her dreams being a jumbled together sequence of the same scenes. _Maybe I should talk with Dr. Pfaff,"_ she wondered.

She started sorting through the five files, which security had brought to the Q-Bureau for P-22s. Four of them looked easy to do background checks on. The fifth one was on a Jacques Pierre, a French international jewelry store owner, who had come to the States through Dulles yesterday. "I'll save you to last Mr. Pierre," Amanda muttered to herself as she picked up the other four and moved to the computer on Lee's desk. Sitting down she logged on and began the background checks.

Two hours later, she had the background workup completed, typed, and properly put into sequence order for the files. Gathering up the four files, she decided to deliver them to Surveillance, for a break, before she tackled Jacques Pierre.

As she was coming out of the surveillance room, Kara Davis was coming down the hall and called Amanda's name. Amanda stopped and waited for Kara to catch up.

"You here on a Saturday, Amanda?"

"Yeah, my turn for Saturday roster duty."

"Lee here too?"

"No he works next Saturday. He's at home with my boys."

Kara laughed picturing The Great Scarecrow with teenage boys and couldn't help commenting, "Scarecrow with teenage boys. Now I would love to see that!"

Amanda chuckled, "Actually, Lee's, really good with and for Philip and Jamie."

"Are you free for lunch, Amanda?"

"Sure, but I need to stop at the Q-Bureau for my purse."

**Same Day Rockville House, MD **

Lee stood in the doorway of the office surveying his work. He gave a satisfying smile, one which told of the great accomplishment he had made of getting the office organized. He had been working on the office since Amanda had left for work at seven thirty this morning. He glanced at the clock and saw it was already ten. The boys would probably be getting up soon, and he thought he would surprise them with breakfast, for he had seen the ingredients for a frittata in the fridge.

On Monday he would call a security company to have the house armed along with the perimeter of their property. He would have an Agency Tech come out to connect the computer to the Agency's system. For now though he closed and locked the door and headed to the kitchen.

An hour later Lee heard noises emanating from upstairs and a few minutes later Philip and Jamie arrived in the kitchen.

"That smells good, "Jamie said enthusiastically.

"I'm starved," Philip chimed in.

The three of them sat down at the table to eat; with Lee serving a generous helping of frittata for each of them. Jamie and Philip sat stock still looking at their food.

"Come on fellas, eat up!" Lee said between mouth fulls.

"How can something smell so good and look…" Jamie trailed off on his question.

"So gross!" Philip finished for him.

"Gross! You don't know what you are missing. I learned this recipe from a chef in Capri. Come on its eggs with some vegetables in it. Your mom's always wanting you to eat more vegetables, so here you go!"

"What's this green stuff?" Philip questioned poking at some spinach.

"Mushrooms, Lee, they're so slimy!" Jamie replied with a contoured look on his face, as he speared a huge piece of mushroom, holding it up for an inspection.

Both boys looked at Lee, who seemed to be enjoying his dish, and then back at their plates. Simultaneously they reached for the toast and after several bites let out a collective sigh.

Lee could only look at his step sons, and smirk in disbelief while he muttered under his breath, "I don't know how you do it, Amanda!"

"Now as I grab you from behind you want to get a hold of my pinky finger and twist while you bring your foot up to kick me in the knee," Lee was explaining to Philip and Jamie. Both boys stood staring at Lee trying to follow his instructions.

"I don't know, Lee, this sounds complicated," Jamie cautiously stated.

"It won't be once I show you. Come here, Philip. Now you stand here and I'll come up behind you and…" Lee began.

As he was positioning himself and Philip for the demonstration, Philip asked, "Why are you teaching us this anyways?"

"It's always good for a person to know how to defend himself."

"Did you teach mom?"

"Sure did, but your mom has a style all her own. Now as I grab you around the neck…"

"How likely are we going to have someone grab us around the neck, Lee?" Jamie asked in curiosity.

"You never know!" Lee said defensively as he took in Jamie's questioning look. He quickly continued, "We practice here for a little bit and then we'll take the corvette out to the track for a spin. Maybe I'll let you both have a turn driving it," Lee couldn't believe his ears heard him telling the boys this, but the words were out.

"Oh, boy! Okay let's get this self-defense stuff done with," both boys eagerly jumped to be the first one attacked.

After an hour of practicing self- defense and showers for all, they were heading to the practice track.

"It's been a while since you've taken us, Lee; have you been there since our last time?" Philip asked from the passenger seat.

"Your mom and I were there a week or so ago for her to practice," Lee said. Once what he had said sunk in, he shook his head and sighed, _Amanda's right! If I keep this up I'll spill our jobs to the boys. What is it with this family? The KGB couldn't get this much information from me, even under torture. Besides, maybe we should tell the boys! H_e thought to himself.

"What does mom need to practice for?" Jamie questioned in almost a challenging tone.

Lee looked at Jamie in the rearview mirror, _he is the most like his mother and he probably has it figured out already!" H_e thought to himself. To Jamie he fibbed, "We wanted to compare speeds of different vehicles for a project at work." _Now I know how hard this is for Amanda. It is hard not being truthful with the ones you love,"_ he thought.

Finally arriving at the track and outdoor shooting range, Lee signed in at the office, while Philip and Jamie waited outside of the car. They both loved coming here with Lee.

"I think I'm going to be a race car driver when I grow up!" Philip excitedly said.

"I want to be there when you tell mom that!" Jamie laughed.

Leatherneck, who was the Agency's Quartermaster, also was overseer of the track and outdoor shooting range. He came over to the corvette, "You must be Mrs. King's sons. I'm Leatherneck," He said with an outstretched hand.

"Yes sir," both boys politely replied as they took turns shaking his hand.

"Lee inside?"

"Yes sir, he went to sign in," Jamie explained as he curiously looked Leatherneck up and down, trying to figure out why his mom knew him. _What a funny name, probably a nickname because of all the leather he wears, _Jamie mused to himself.

Leatherneck took off to the office and later emerged with Lee, both in animated conversation.

"I don't believe you, Leatherneck! Your car couldn't go that fast," Lee said incredulously.

"Well, Ace, it did and I don't believe you and your corvette can top it," Leatherneck smiled knowing Lee was going to take the bait. Lee looked at Leatherneck trying to decide if he should let the challenge pass, but the little boy in him came to the surface.

"Philip, Jamie you two wait here with Leatherneck," He called over his shoulder while he ran to the Corvette and slung open the door, jumped in and sped off to the track. Leatherneck and the boys ran to the fence as Leatherneck pulled out the stopwatch.

"Will he be able to beat you?" Philip asked.

Leatherneck said with a laugh, "Sure, he can. I didn't really go that fast, but he needed an incentive to try harder."

Jamie, who was like his mother, tucked this bit of information away to evaluate later.

As Lee brought the Corvette to a stop, Leatherneck clicked the stopwatch and yelled out, "That's you best time, Scar…" he trailed off quickly as he glanced at Amanda's boys. He amended by calling out, "Lee, that's your best time!"

Lee was in full smile as he affectionately patted his car and rubbed it in, "I told you there was no way you could out run this baby." He called out to Philip and Jamie, "You two ready for a spin?"

"Yeah!" they both hollered as they ran onto the track to join Lee. They climbed into the Corvette excited for the time on the track.

Lee raced a few laps and then gave each of the boys a few turns. He tried to give them pointers on driving. He thought to himself, _Philip is a natural with handling the car, whereas Jamie is a little more timid; but timid wasn't all bad._

Lee pulled up in front of the office to sign out, "You fellas want to come in?"

"Sure," both boys replied as they climbed out also.

They made their way to the office and Lee held open the door for them to enter before him.

"Hey, Lee, you need to check out this new Colt .45, I have in here," Leatherneck yelled from the back.

Lee made his way behind the counter into the backroom with an eager Philip keeping up; but with a more reluctant Jamie bringing up the rear. The boys stopped in the doorway, a little overwhelmed, with the sight of guns hanging all over the walls.

Lee let out a low whistle as he picked it up.

"Look what I found for your par…," Leatherneck trailed off when he remembered the two boys, but excitedly continued as he held up a .22 Magnum for Lee to inspect, "It's small, lightweight, and can easily be concealed in a garter."

Lee forgetting for the moment that the boys were with him slipped into agent mode. Putting down the colt he picked up the Magnum, felt the weight of it, and inspected the barrel, "How nice does it fire?"

"Want to try it out? If you like it I can bring it back and let Ama…," Leatherneck again caught himself as he turned to gather up target sheets and markers.

"I'll try it. She'll trust my judgment, but we'll have to practice with her on using it," Lee replied with a chuckle.

"Come on outside and I'll get it set up."

Lee headed out after Leatherneck and the boys not sure what they were involved with followed slowly behind. After Leatherneck had the targets in place, He picked up the gun in his left hand and fired a round. Philip and Jamie stood wide eyed in amazement as Lee shot the bull's eye each time. Once he had finished firing, they both ran excitedly over to him. Lee coming back to his senses ran a nervous hand through his hair. How much did they understand of what was implied? _How could I be so careless? Amanda is going to kill me! _he thought.

"Boy, Lee, that was great! How did you learn to shot so well?" Philip enthusiastically asked.

"Lucky shot I guess," Lee brushed it off, but the boys weren't buying it.

"Can we shot?" Philip ventured to ask.

"Uh…I don't…your mother…"

Lee took in Philip's hopeful look and relented. He quickly started to explain, "Okay listen fellas; first of all, being at the shooting range is between us. Secondly, before you shoot I'm going to teach you about guns and gun safety."

"Are you sure the misses is going to like you letting her little boys shoot?" Leatherneck asked.

"Amanda needs to realize her boys aren't babies anymore, but are becoming young men. Besides, it never hurts to learn about gun safety," Lee assertively replied back.

"Sounds like some good arguments there. Hopefully Amanda agrees," Leatherneck laughed as he started resetting the targets.

**Same Day The Agency, Q-Bureau **

Amanda had spent the last two hours working on the background check of Jacques Pierre. Since he was a jewelry seller and buyer of rare and precious gems, he required a security check. He owned stores in France, Spain, and Italy; but spent most of his time traveling the world looking for rare gems. His recent travels included Cairo, Cambridge, Rio de Janeiro, and Johannesburg.

Something about those cities seemed familiar, but Amanda couldn't put her finger on it at the moment. As she kept going through his travels something wasn't feeling right about Mr. Pierre.

She decided to venture into the vault to look up any files on those cities, and she emerged with a file for each one. In Cairo on January 2nd the ancient Egyptian Breccia Verde Antico and an emerald was stolen from the Egyptian Geology Museum. In Cambridge on March 15th, a 14th century Ming period cup made of Jade was stolen from the Fitzwilliam Museum. On April 23rd a 700 carat, deep purple with tinges of violet color Amethyst was stolen from a Gem and Mineral Show in Rio de Janeiro. Finally, on June 6th an uncut diamond was stolen from Browns Jewellers in Johannesburg.

Amanda looked back over Jacques' recent travel schedule, and he happened to be an attendee at each of those shows. Could it be a coincidence? Amanda highly doubted it.

Amanda was curious about what jewelry show was being held in this area. A quick research for jewelry, mineral, and gem shows gave quite a list, so she narrowed the search down to shows which showcased rare or precious gems. There was a show being held at The Jefferson scheduled for next Wednesday night at seven o'clock. The Dom Pedro was going to be on loan from the Smithsonian Institute. Jacques Pierre was on the guest list.

With her research completed and the proper papers filled out, Amanda wrote up the request to have him followed. After arranging it all in the proper order, she took the file and placed it on Billy's desk for him to review on Monday.

Amanda made her way back to the Q-Bureau and put the research files away, logged off the computer, and grabbed her purse. She was ready to get home to Lee and the boys.

**Corvette **

On their way home from the track, Lee made a stop for gas. Rhonda came out to fill up the tank. Lee got out of the car to talk. While she filled up the tank, washed the windshield, and checked the air in the tires she told Lee the latest gossip.

"Word on the street is Karbala is reforming," she said in a candid voice.

Lee keeping the exchange as clandestine as possible asked in return, "Have they formed or just desiring to?"

"I haven't heard they are officially a group. No word that they are responsible for the bombings."

"Okay, thanks. Keep your ears open."

"Always!"

As Lee pressed a fifty dollar bill into her hand he said, "Keep the change."

"Oh, thanks and that'll be twenty dollars for the gas, Sir." Rhonda replied with a smile and an outstretched hand.

Lee looked at her and smirked, as he pulled out a twenty and plopped it into her palm on top of the fifty.

Climbing back into the Corvette, he shook his head and slapped his hands on the stirring wheel exclaiming, "How does she do it? She's been insistent they were still active."

"Who Lee?" Jamie asked.

This brought Lee back to the present, "Oh, sorry guys. Hey, you two want some ice cream?"

"Mom's not going to like us having it before supper!"

"Then you had better make sure you clean your plates," Lee said with a grin.

They pulled up to the ice cream shop and walked to the front door. Lee saw his friend T.P. Aquanis, who worked for the Library of Congress, sitting at an outdoor table. Handing his step sons a twenty he said, "I see a friend I need to talk with, get single scoops; I'll have vanilla and wait back here for me."

As Lee moved toward T.P. the boys went into the ice cream shop.

T.P. looked up to see Lee approaching him, and as Lee took a seat T.P. spoke, "Lee, my boy it's been a little while since I've seen you."

"Yeah, we've been busy."

"So I hear congratulations!"

"Thanks."

"T.P. have you heard anything about Karbala forming again?" Lee asked, getting right to the point so as not to raise any more suspicions from Philip and Jamie.

"I can't say as I have. I'll look into it and see what I can find."

Philip and Jamie had their ice cream and were waiting for Lee where he told them to. Glancing over in their direction, Lee caught sight of them and rose from his chair, clasped T.P. on the shoulder and said, "Thanks, I appreciate it and give me a call."

"Amanda has fine looking boys."

"Yeah, they're good kids!" Lee said with pride, "See you later," and he turned to head back in Philip and Jamie's direction.

"Okay boys let's hit the grocery store for supper supplies," Lee told them as he took his proffered ice cream cone from Philip.

**Rockville House, MD **

Amanda came in the front door to a delicious smell in the air. She called out as she made her way to the kitchen, "I'm home; boy it smells good in here!"

Lee stood at the kitchen island with an apron tied around his waist chopping vegetables. Amanda walked over to get a kiss from her husband. Picking up a slice of carrot, she popped it into her mouth while Lee leaned in for another peck.

"How was your day?" he asked as he gathered the vegetables and tossed them into a pan. He picked up a wooden spoon to stir the rice.

"I got a lot accomplished without you around to distract me," she replied mischievously as she reached for another carrot, but Lee playfully slapped her hand away.

"Do you know of a Jacques Pierre?"

"The name sounds familiar. Isn't he a Frenchman who owns jewelry shops?"

"That's the one. He's in the States now."

"Big deal. People come to buy and sell gems all the time," Lee flippantly said as he started cutting up squid to add to the vegetables.

"You remember we've being getting reports of rare stones being stolen from around the world."

"Yeah," Lee stopped cutting to look at his wife. He knew by now that her research was always beyond compare to link people and events together, "So what'd you find?"

"Jacques Pierre was in those exact locations on the days those stones were stolen. He was also an invited guest to each of those shows."

"Okay you have my interest."

"There is a gem show next Wednesday night being held at The Jefferson with The Dom Pedro on loan from the Smithsonian. I wrote up his P-22 and put it on Billy's desk."

"Sounds like you have everything in order. Now let's forget about work and enjoy the rest of the weekend," He added as he leaned over for another kiss.

"Where are the boys? Did you have a good day?"

"They're exploring the woods and we had a great day. Supper's about ready, why don't you go find them," He suggested not wanting to tell her what he had uncovered about Karbala. Besides, right now it was just gossip; he would wait to see what T.P. found.

"Okay," Amanda headed out the back door to track down her boys.

"That was a great meal Lee; it's been a while since you've fixed this," Amanda sincerely complimented with a small smile for her husband.

Philip and Jamie looked at their mother with skeptical looks on their faces. The two boys had picked at the rice and a few vegetables that they liked, but they would not even try the squid.

"I think we'll starve if you leave us too long with Lee, mom," Philip said seriously.

Amanda laughed and admonished her son, "Lee's a wonderful cook and it's nice to be introduced to dishes from around the world. Why don't you two clean off the table?"

Philip and Jamie reluctantly stood to start their chore when the doorbell rang. "I'll get it!" Philip quickly said as he ran to the front door.

"I probably should have gone. Who even knows we live here," Lee said a little nervously.

"It's probably just neighbors stopping by to introduce themselves."

The color drained from Lee's face, as he thought back to when he and Amanda posed as a married couple living in the suburbs. He could only hope it wasn't a welcome wagon, "That reminds me; Monday I'm calling a security agency to come out here."

"Sounds like a good idea," Amanda said with a soft smile.

Philip came back into the dining room with his dad. Joe quickly explained, "Sorry to bust in on you, but I don't have your new number."

"You're fine Joe. Do you want anything to eat?" Lee asked in a friendly tone. He knew for his family's sake he needed to be friendly with Joe.

"Is this Japanese stir-fry with actual squid? I haven't had this dish since I've come back to the states, so I would love some."

"I'll get you a plate," Amanda quickly went to get him a plate, silverware, and a glass.

She came back with the place setting. Lee dished up a generous helping while Amanda poured him a glass of Burgundy.

Joe tucked into his food and between bites declared, "This is great. I didn't know you knew how to cook like this, Amanda!"

"Lee cooked this," Amanda corrected.

"You are full of surprises, Stetson!" Joe replied as he took another fork full. After a few minutes he asked Amanda, "Could I have the boys for the night and tomorrow?"

"Sure and I'll write down our new number." She left the table to round up the boys for their father.

This left Joe and Lee alone at the table. Lee took a sip of his wine and offered more to Joe, who declined.

After Joe finished his meal he declared, "That was delicious! This is a beautiful house you and Amanda have bought." Joe too had decided, for the sake of the boys, he and Lee needed to be friendly with each other.

"Thanks, would you like a tour?"

"Since you're offering, I'll take you up on it. How many acres do you have?" Joe asked as they rose from the table to start the tour.

An hour later, Joe and the boys were pulling out of the drive headed to Maryland Heights.

Lee came up behind his wife and encircled her with his arms as he nuzzled the nape of her neck, "When does your mother get back?"

Amanda turned to face her husband and pecked him on the lips, "Probably not until eleven or so, why what do you have in mind?"

Lee's response was to pick up his wife and head to the stairs.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

**Sat. July 13, 1987 Senator Bauer's Alexandra, VA **

Francine walked up the front steps to the Tudor style home of Senator Bauer alone, but this didn't bother her because she was sure she wouldn't be alone for long. The butler opened the door and ushered her to the gardens outback where the party was in full swing. It was a beautiful summer night for a party. As she made her way out the sliding glass doors and into the elegantly manicured garden, Senator Bauer, spotted her and motioned for his wife to join him in welcoming her.

Coming over he kissed her on the cheek declaring, "I'm so glad you could come my dear."

His wife, Colleen, gave her a hug and whispered, "I have a charming gentleman you need to meet. Come with me Francine." Francine chuckling allowed Colleen to lead her over to the other guests.

Approaching a group of party goers, Colleen started introductions, "I'm sorry to interrupt, but I would like you to meet Francine Desmond. Francine, this is Walker Hayes, who owns oil wells in Texas; Phyllis Alyward a Senator from Tennessee; and Jacques Pierre a jewelry store owner from France." Each in turn made the proper greetings.

After talking for a while, Francine saw Congressman Bruce Wyman across the garden. She politely excused herself to make her way over to the Congressman.

"Hello, Bruce. How have you been?"

"Francine! I didn't know you were invited tonight."

As Francine tried to get the conversation to become more in depth, a young voluptuous blond came over to the couple, and sauntered up to the Congressman. She said in an annoying high pitch whine, "Here Brucy, I found some of those delicious cake bites I was telling you about." She then took in the fact that Francine was there, "Hi, I'm Candi and you are?"

"Francine Desmond. I'll let you continue on with your date." Francine left the couple, who had started feeding each other.

As she made her way to the fountain, which sat in the middle of the main garden, she took a glass of champagne from a waitress and a hors d'oeuvre from a different waitress. While being mesmerized by the sound of the fountain, she stood sipping her drink and nibbling her crab roll. Jacques Pierre spotted Francine by the fountain; he made proper goodbyes and headed in her direction.

"Beautiful night isn't it Ms. Desmond," Jacques said in broken English, which startled her.

"Ah, yes it is, Mr. Pierre."

"Call me Jacques. Walk with me through the gardens."

Francine smiled a rare, genuine smile and replied, "Call me Francine and I would love too."

Jacques linked her arm through his, retrieved fresh champagne glasses, and started to stroll through the gardens.

Francine spent the rest of the evening with Jac, as his friends called him and truly enjoyed her time.

"Would you spend tomorrow with me, Francine?"

"I would love to, Jac! Let me drive you back to your hotel."

"That would be wonderful as we could spend more time together!"

The couple made their way over to Senator Bauer to thank him for the lovely evening and then made their way to Francine's car.

**Monday July, 15, 1987 The Agency Billy's Office **

Billy looked through the dossier on Jacques Pierre, which definitely raised some red flags. He couldn't hide a smile because Amanda had done an exceptional job on Jacques' background check. She really had a knack for research and the Q-Bureau, which Lee had especially benefited from.

He picked up the phone to dial the Q-Bureau. Amanda answered with, "Q-Bureau, Amanda King speaking."

"Amanda, I would like to see you and Scarecrow in my office concerning Jacques Pierre."

"Yes sir, I'll have to track Lee down. I think he's down with Leatherneck."

"Okay, whenever you get here will be fine."

Amanda said her goodbye and dialed the quartermaster's office.

"Leatherneck here," Amanda heard through the receiver.

"This is Amanda. Is Lee still there?"

"Yeah, I'll get him for you."

"No, just tell him to meet me in Mr. Melrose's office."

"Well do, Mrs. King," but Leatherneck paused for a second and added, "I guess I'll have to get used to calling you Mrs. Stetson."

"It does have a nice ring to it." Amanda replied with a chuckle.

Amanda and Lee met in the hall outside of the bullpen.

"Hello stranger," She called with a smile.

"To true to be funny," He replied putting his hand on the small of her back as he ushered her through the bullpen doors, which were opened by MPs.

They knocked on Billy's door and before hearing a "come in" Lee opened it and allowed Amanda to enter in front of him. Amanda took her customary spot of sitting on the edge of a chair located in front of Billy's desk, while Lee took his customary spot of leaning against the office window, which looked out into the bullpen.

Billy picked up Jacques Pierre's file and smiled at Amanda, "Great work, Amanda! I feel like there is cause to be interested in Mr. Pierre's movements while he is a guest here in the States. I want you two trailing him; and find out a way to get invited to the jewelry show, which is being held at The Jefferson next Wednesday night."

Lee held out his hand for Amanda which she took while she said, "Thank you, Sir!" and they were out the door.

As they were making their way through the bullpen doors they met Francine coming in. "Good morning Lee, Amanda. Beautiful day isn't it! See you two later," and before Lee or Amanda could comment she was breezing into the bullpen to her desk.

"She must've had a hot date this weekend," Lee observed.

"Oh, I wonder what she and Jonathan did. She has been gone for a while; it probably was a sweet reunion," she sweetly replied.

**Tuesday July 16, 1987 Rockville House, MD **

Dotty and Captain Curt were in the kitchen where she was putting the final touches on their lunch. She was in the middle of a monologue about her apartment when they heard several vehicles pull up front. Slamming car doors and a handful of voices could be heard as well; not sure what to expect the two head to the front porch.

Lee was meeting with Jeffery Peterson, who had a crew of three with him, from Lambert's Security to have a security system installed. Also with him were Michael Humphreys and Anna Jenkins from The Agency, who was to set up the computer and phone lines. When Dotty and Curt made it to the front porch the scene before them looked like a three ring circus.

"Okay, Scarecrow, where do you want us," asked an excited Humphreys, who couldn't believe he was working with the infamous Scarecrow and couldn't wait to use his codename.

Lee calmly walked up to him and in a death whisper said, "Do not call me that here or on any routine job." When Humphreys looked into the steel, cold eyes of his superior, he could only nod 'yes'.

"Come with me, I'll show you two the office," Lee said in an authoritative voice.

"We'll look around the outside of the house first and then meet you inside, Lee." Jeffery Peterson explained.

"Okay," he replied as he escorted the Agency duo up the porch.

"Hi, Dotty, Curt," Lee acknowledged the two.

"What's going on here, Lee?" Dotty asked in confusion.

"I'm going to have some security measures installed around the house and eventually your apartment," He explained with a smile.

"Oh, that would be reassuring, Son." She replied while patting his arm.

After Curt gave Dotty a quizzical look, she motioned for them to go back inside. They made their way back to the kitchen to eat their lunch. About fifteen minutes later, they heard footsteps and voices going up the stairs with the men finally ending up in the kitchen.

"We should be able to get the house system finished by the end of the week; but the perimeter of your property will take longer, especially since you want cameras for the woods."

"Sounds great, will you wait until the apartment's finished?"

"Actually some of the wiring can be done before, it'll make it easier. Let's check out the woods."

As the two men left, Curt gave Dotty a curious sideways glance, but she never acknowledged it. Dotty was finally able to relax and start a companionable conversation back with Curt. After a half an hour, Michael came in search of Lee.

He absently called out, "Scarecrow?" as he entered the kitchen.

"He went out into the woods," Dotty off handedly replied as she nodded her head towards the back door.

"Oh thanks, Mrs. West," he replied as he went out the door.

"Scarecrow?" Curt asked.

"Uh…oh, yeah…um…I think that's what Lee said they call the security guy," Dotty stammered wondering how Amanda and Lee did it. Luckily the phone rang to rescue her from any further explanation.

"Hello," Dotty answered the phone.

"Mother is Lee still there?"

"Oh, hi darling; Yes, he's outside. Do you want me to get him?"

"Please it's urgent!"

Dotty quickly dropped the phone and went out the door to find Lee and was relieved to see them emerging from the woods. Dotty started waving to them and headed their way at a fast walk. Lee noticing his mother in law waving ran to meet her. When he caught up to her, Dotty explained, "Amanda's on the phone; she said it's urgent!"

Lee took off for the phone and picked it up, "Stetson," he replied out of breath.

"Lee I just followed Pierre to his hotel where Francine was waiting for him. They got on the elevator together. I'm assuming they've went to his room."

"What? Francine!" Lee yelled and then sighed as he ran his free hand through his hair. "Okay, listen; make sure she doesn't see you and keep a tail on him. Call me in an hour. First try my car, then here, if you can't reach me leave a message at work."

"You don't check your messages at work," Amanda pointed out.

"Amanda!" Lee said in exasperation. "I do too check my messages. Just do what I say, okay!"

"Okay, I'll talk to you later."

"Bye and be careful!" Lee said lovingly. Hanging up the phone he turned to Dotty and explained, "Amanda's going to be working late tonight."

"Is everything okay?" Dotty asked a little nervously.

"Everything's fine! I'm going to finish with these guys and then get back to work. They'll be here for a few days," he replied as he patted her arm, then turned, and left the room.

Curt came up and put his hands on her shoulders while asking, "Are you sure that boy is on the up and up?" Dotty just sighed, but remained silent.

Lee and Amanda sat in the Corvette sipping ice tea and nibbling on carrot sticks while they kept a watch on Francine's car. Francine and Jacques were dining at the French restaurant Mon Ami Gabi.

"I thought she was still dating Jonathan," Amanda stated in disbelief.

"I guess it didn't work out. Too bad this won't either, but it will be easier having her involved on the personal level. We'll bring her in on it tomorrow."

At around eight thirty, Francine and Jacques left the restaurant and went back to his hotel room. Since there seemed to be no more activity, Lee decided around eleven to abandon their stake out until tomorrow and took Amanda home.

**Wednesday July 17, 1987 The Agency, Q-Bureau **

"I don't believe your accusations," Francine said in an incredulous voice.

"All the evidence is here in his dossier," Amanda offered Francine the file on Jacques Pierre with an outstretched hand.

"Honestly, the man only owns jewelry stores!"

"Who happened to be at the same events on the same day that each of those gems were stolen," an impatient Lee tried explaining for what felt like the hundredth time.

"Coincidences; he doesn't seem like the type of man that could pull off those jewel heists," Francine said in defense of Jacques.

"Take the dossier and read up on it, Francine. At ten we'll meet in my office to discuss our plan," Billy said with authority.

Francine snatched the file from Amanda's hand and left in a huff.

"She's a professional. She'll be ready to play once we tell her our plan," Billy said; not sure if he was trying to convince Lee and Amanda or himself. "See you two at ten," he continued as he opened the door and left the Q-Bureau.

**Wednesday July 24, 1987 Francine's Apartment**

Francine felt like her heart was in her throat and to be honest she had never felt like this before. She was always the professional playing the part of a lover, who breaks the other's heart to obtain secrets; but she hadn't been playing this time and tonight she would be the lover, who got their heart broken. This past week had been incredible. Jac was a perfect gentleman, who doted and pampered her beyond belief. She had spent every moment with him, so in a way being assigned to him was no hardship. She had read the dossier, which Amanda had compiled and she had to admit there could be a case for his guiltiness; but she would not believe it until tonight was over.

She picked up the sapphire and diamond necklace and fastened it around her neck. She attached the matching earrings to her ears, the bracelet on her wrist, and placed the ring on her finger. Each piece was a gift from Jac, which he presented on each date. If he was guilty tonight she would return them, because to keep them would be too painful of a reminder of what could not be. The exquisite jewelry admirably accented the midnight blue, strapless gown that she wore.

Tonight, Jac had hired a limo to drive them to The Jefferson. She put finishing touches on her makeup and checked her hair one last time, secured her gun in her garter, and walked out the door. She waited for the elevator and got on once it arrived. She arrived in the lobby and made her way to the waiting limo and Jacques.

**Same Night Rockville House, MD **

Amanda descended the staircase wearing an emerald colored, strapless, floor length dress that accented her slender body.

Jamie caught sight of his mom first and couldn't help himself, "Wow, Mom! You look gorgeous!"

Amanda came over and kissed her son on the forehead, "Thank you, Sweetheart."

Dotty emerged from the kitchen and declared, "Amanda that dress does look wonderful on you!"

"Thank you, Mother."

"What's Lee going to be wearing?" Jamie asked in curiosity.

"He'll probably be wearing one of his suits, you moron," Philip so kindly pointed out.

"Philip, don't call your brother names," She reprimanded while giving him the look. She turned to Jamie and explained kindly, "He'll be wearing one of his tuxes, Sweetheart."

"You mean he owns more than one?" Philip asked in disbelief. "I thought people rented those things."

Amanda chuckled at Philip's apparent disdain for something in which he had never worn before, "Most people do, but some people have them tailored made if they need them a lot."

Before the conversation could continue on about tuxedos the doorbell rang and Lee let himself in.

"Lee you look handsome," Dotty gushed as she came over and gave her son in law a kiss on the cheek.

He rewarded his mother in law with a Stetson smile and winked, "Thanks Dotty." While looking his wife over from head to toe, he expressed in an approving tone, "Amanda! You look stunning!"

Amanda blushed and replied as she moved to kiss her husband, "I was thinking the same about you!"

"Amanda, turn around," Lee instructed. He proceeded to unclasp the necklace she wore and replace it with a purple diamond infinity necklace. Time seemed to stand still as he lovingly looked down into her face, while she looked up into his eyes. He turned her to face him again, "it looks even more beautiful on you than I imagined," he pulled her close and kissed her forehead.

"Lee, it's beautiful!"

"I got it for you to wear with your wedding dress, but I thought I would give it to you early."

"Mom, Lee, look this way," Jamie called.

Amanda and Lee embraced, turned toward Jamie, and smiled as he took their picture.

"Thank you, Sweetheart!"

"We had better get going, Amanda."

Philip and Jamie kissed their mother good-bye and left the room. Dotty came closer and in a stage whisper asked, "Is this a sting you're going too?"

"Mother!" Amanda chastised.

"Isn't that what you call them?" Dotty expressed emphatically.

"We call them operations, Dotty; and this is one," Lee added with a chuckle.

"Do you have your guns then?" She asked anxiously; but stopped for a second, chuckled, and then continued, "Not what you'd normally ask people going to a party,"

"Yes, mother, we have our guns. We always carry them," She replied in a soothing tone.

"Where would you carry yours Amanda? That dress wouldn't hide one and your purse isn't big enough to carry one in."

"She has a garter holster with a gun fastened in it. Don't worry, Dotty, this isn't going to be dangerous at all. It's just a little milk run!" He said reassuringly while giving his mother in law a kiss on the cheek. He gave Dotty a wink and encircled Amanda around the waist, opened the door and escorted her to the Corvette.

Dotty grabbed the door and called after them, "Have a lovely evening, darlings!"

They turned, waved, and called back, "We will and you don't have to wait up!"

**Same Night The Jefferson Washington, DC **

"Good evening," the greeter at The Jefferson's ballroom entrance said as he looked at his invitation list and questioned, "You are?"

"Mr. and Mrs. LaPrade from California," Lee answered the greeter with an air of aristocracy to his voice, while Amanda remained stoic looking with her arm locked into his.

"Ah yes, here we are! If you could sign here please," the greeter held the clipboard for Lee to sign the sheet.

"Janelle, if you would show Mr. and Mrs. LaPrade to The Empire Room."

"Follow me please," the stiff sounding, young woman stated, as she turned to show them to the gathering room. "We have a hundred sellers here this evening. I would suspect you will find something along your tastes. We also have on loan from the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History, their newly acquired Dom Pedro gem. The Dom Pedro is the world's largest cut aquamarine which is obelisk-shaped and is a blue-green colored crystal, which has recently been mined in Brazil. The Dom Pedro received its name to honor Brazil's first two emperors. The gem stands fourteen inches tall and weighs 10,363 carats, which is nearly five pounds. The cuts in the reverse faces serve to reflect light within the gem," Janelle recited the history of the Dom Pedro as they walked down the concourse to The Empire Room. Lee and Amanda tried to show their rapid attention to the information that they already knew from their research.

Stopping at the entrance to the room Janelle stretched out her hand towards the gem show, "Enjoy your evening!"

"Thank you!" Lee graciously replied.

The couple walked into the elegant room and while looking around Amanda commented in awe, "This room is more beautiful than I've heard. I have always wanted to come here!" They walked into the room and received a booklet, which contained the vendor's names and their location in the room. "This used to be The Jefferson's main dining room," she added as she took in the wall which held thirty foot windows and a bank of graceful French doors. "I've read those French doors open to The Mezzanine which overlooks the expansive Rotunda. I hope we have a chance to go out there."

Lee gave his wife's arm a little squeeze as he led them toward the first vendor. Through the course of the next hour they had gazed at a fourth of the booths on display. "Let's take a break," Lee suggested as he lead them toward a waitress with a serving platter of wine glasses.

He picked up two and handed one to Amanda, "Thank you dear," she expressed with a soft smile.

Looking around the room they spotted Francine and Jacques admiring the Dom Pedro, which was showcased under a locked cubed display. "Do you think he can tell it's a fake?" Amanda asked in a whisper.

"I don't think so; even the museum's curator said he couldn't tell the difference from surface appearances."

"I don't see how he could possibly steal it with all these people around and with the alarm on the display; but if my research is correct he'll find away."

"Come on let's go take a look too," Lee suggested as he lead her toward the Dom Pedro.

Arriving at the display, Amanda turned toward Lee and gushed, "Darling, the Dom Pedro is as exquisite as I have read about!"

"It definitely reflects the light beyond compare, dear," Lee added to their cover.

Francine almost laughed at Lee and Amanda's acting terms of endearment, but remained the altogether professional.

"I can understand your sentiments exactly. Once I read it was going to have its inaugural debut at this show I knew I had to see it!" Jacques Pierre commented as he turned toward Lee and Amanda. Holding out his hand he started introductions, "I'm Jacques Pierre and this is my escort Francine Desmond."

"Ralph LaPrade and my wife, Edina," Lee replied in return shaking Pierre's out stretched hand.

Amanda extended her hand and Pierre took a hold of it with intentions of bring the back of it to his lips for a soft kiss. "Oh, uh…" Amanda replied with a chuckle. He promptly released it as any gentleman would do. "I notice an accent Mr. Pierre. Where are you from?" Amanda asked sociably.

"Please call me Jacques and I'm from France. I'm here on holiday and met this lovely lady at a social event last Saturday," he finished looking toward Francine with a soft, genuine smile. "Where are you from?"

"We are from California and came to this show to see what we can add to our collection," Lee offered with a smile.

"You should definitely be able to find something to your liking then. It was a pleasure to meet you two. Enjoy the rest of your evening. If you'll excuse us," Jacques politely said as he took Francine by the arm and escorted her away.

The evening pain stakenily crawled by for Lee and Amanda as there was no action from the suspect. Francine, on the other hand, was having a wonderful time with her hopes climaxing that Lee and Amanda's instincts were in left field. About a half an hour left to the show Jacques whispered to Francine, "I need to go to the restroom my dear," and he gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. Francine slowly nodded her response and watched him leave the ballroom and recede down the hall toward the restrooms.

A short time later the lights flickered and went completely out. People started to scream as the event coordinator and his assistance tried to calm people down.

Lee, Amanda, and a reluctant Francine fled The Empire Room, which was difficult to do in the dark. Once they were in the hall, the emergency lights gave faint illumination.

"Where do you think he went?" Amanda asked.

"We don't know for sure that Jac did it!" Francine brusquely replied.

"We know the lights went out shortly after he left the room!" Lee tersely added.

The trio could hear the event coordinator yell, "The Dom Pedro is missing!"

Lee and Amanda gave Francine a look of certainty, "Come on he has to be making his way out of the building, if he hasn't already." Lee motioned to Amanda as he pulled his gun out from beneath his coat. Amanda took a second to obtain her gun. Both of them took off for the back entrance, as Francine went to call for back up.

Arriving outside, they spotted a lone figure darting through parked vehicles as he made his way to Scott Circle Park. Lee took off at a faster pace to close in the distance. As he shortened the length between himself and the figure he jumped on the hood of a parked car and took a flying leap off landing on top of Jacques Pierre. Lee jumped off and pulled Pierre to his feet by the back of his tuxedo coat. Pierre tried to pull away, but Amanda arrived on the scene shouting almost out of breath, "Freeze. I don't want to shoot!" Pierre obeyed, but looked obstinate at the two agents.

"Okay, Pal. Where's the Dom Padre?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Let's not play games shall we," Lee huffed as he pulled out his Federal ID. "Where did you hide it?"

Sighing Jacques admitted, "In the potted plant in front of the hotel. I figured I could lose you and circle back to reclaim it."

Lee gruffly grabbed him by the arm and escorted him back to the hotel while Amanda kept her gun trained on him. A large group was starting to form outside as people were leaving the gem show, but was also getting caught up in the action of arriving federal cars with agents.

"Check the plant, Amanda." Lee said as he motioned with his head once they arrived back in front of the hotel. Amanda went to the plant, searched around, and pulled out the duplicate gem as Francine arrived on the scene. Jacques and Francine's eyes locked as she came to a halt.

"Do you mind if I have a moment with my date?"

Lee was about to say no when he caught sight of Francine and he relented, "A moment."

Jacques slowly made his way over to Francine. He sincerely explained in broken English, "I am truly sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you; this has been the best week of my life."

"I'm sorry too," Francine expressed in a small voice as she unhooked the jewelry he had given her.

"No! Please keep it!" Jacques reached out his hand to stop her.

"It would be too painful of a reminder," she said sadly as she placed the pieces into his hands.

Lee came to escort Jacques to a waiting car as Amanda came to give Francine a sympathetic hug.

"I kept hoping all night that you were wrong," Francine said absently. "When he left to go to the restroom I almost ran after him to beg him not to go; but I knew it would be no use. He needs to be held accountable for the other thefts."

"I know," Amanda replied sympathetically. "Let me take you home, Francine," Amanda added in a caring tone as she led her toward Lee's Corvette.

Lee ran over to join them and Amanda explained, "I'm going to take Francine home. You can ride in an Agency car and I will pick you up there."

"Sounds like a plan," He replied as he kissed his wife on the lips and they parted ways.

**Thur. July 25, 1987 The Agency, Q-Bureau **

Amanda and Lee were finishing up their reports on Operation Aquamarine, when Billy knocked on the door and proceeded into the room. He had a proud beam on his face as he exclaimed, "excellent work Amanda and Scarecrow! This will be a great case, Amanda, to start your Agent of Record Resume. Your research was impeccable, your surveillance flawless, and your portraition of your cover excellent!"

"Thank you, sir!" Amanda humbly replied as Lee beamed at the praise which was being lavished onto his wife.

"You're welcome, Amanda, and you deserve the praise. After you finish your reports you can get out of here," Billy added as he left the Q-Bureau.

Lee let out a whoop as an astonished Kara came into the room. Lee, who was embarrassed, brusquely asked, "Yes, what can we do for you?" He didn't call her by name because for the life of him he couldn't remember if her name was Carrie, Clair, or Carla.

Amanda gave Lee a reproachable look, turned to Kara, and kindly explained, "Don't mind Mr. Stetson! What can we do for you?"

Kara remembering why she was there handed two manila envelopes to Amanda and replied insecurely, "I was asked to deliver these. One is for you and the other is for Mr. Stetson."

Amanda gave her a kind smile, "Thank you, Kara. Have a great day."

"Kara?" Lee silently questioned himself. He sure was glad he hadn't tried to say her name out loud because he didn't keep up with who the young girls were anymore.

Kara returned Amanda's smile and responded in kind, "Thanks, Amanda. I hope your wedding goes smoothly."

Amanda gave her a huge smile and replied with, "Thanks," as Kara left the Q-Bureau.

Lee looked at his wife and for the umpteenth time thought she could make friends with anyone.

Amanda handed Lee his envelope and opened hers to leaf through. Seeing it was finally the information from the two prisons in Europe, she set it aside to be dealt with after their honeymoon.

Lee opened his and saw it was from T.P. Aquanis. He turned toward his desk and let out a sigh when he saw that the rumors and Amanda's suspicions were right, Karbala had reformed. Quickly stuffing the sheets back in the envelope, he sealed it, and decided he would hand it off to Billy when he handed in his report. Maybe someone could find more answers while he was on his honeymoon, but he wasn't going to share this with Amanda at the moment.

"You about finished so we can get out of here?" Lee prompted his wife.

"Uh, huh just a few more minutes," she replied without looking at her husband.

Lee paced their office giving his wife futile looks as she laboriously typed on, "Honestly, Amanda, you don't need to write a book!" Lee said in exasperation.

"Just hold your horses, Scarecrow, I'm about finished," She admonished her husband.

"That's what you said a half an hour ago," He snapped. He took his seat when the phone rang and it seemed Amanda was settling in for a long conversation. What seemed like an hour later she hung up the phone.

"Let me guess, Joe? Why didn't you remind him you are at work?" He groused.

"Because he offered to take the boys while we are away. He'll pick them up late Saturday night," Amanda replied in a tone she would use with the boys.

"Oh, that is very kind of him," Lee grudgingly admitted.

Amanda pulled the final sheet of her report from the typewriter, placed it in the file, stood from her chair and announced in tone as if she had been the one waiting on him, "What are you sitting around for? Let's hand these in so we can get out of here!"

Lee could only roll his eyes and give his wife an incredulous smirk.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

**Sat. July 27, 1987 The Wedding Rockville, MD **

Amanda stood in her and Lee's bedroom waiting for the wedding to start in about a half an hour. While she watched out the upstair's bedroom window, she thought of the last two days as guests took their seats and talked amongst themselves.

Thursday her aunts and uncles had started arriving in town; her mother's sisters, Minnie from Maine, Lillian and Edna from Central Virginia, and her father's brother, Herman from Vermont. Barney, who was like a surrogate father to Lee while he lived with his uncle, came from California.

On Friday, Lee had organized a family cookout and grilled hamburgers. It was nice to be able to visit with the family since they knew today would be busy. Barney fit in well with her family and it was great to see him again. Barney, Curt, and her uncles had a great time of reliving World War II War stories and even ribbed Lee over his one year stint in Vietnam. Amanda smiled remembering her aunts gushing over how handsome and what a gentleman Lee was. She chuckled remembering how her Aunt Lillian had made it known that she was the first extended family member to have met Lee last Christmas when she visited.

Amanda was brought from her musings when she heard a knock on the door. She turned from the window and called, "Come in." The door opened to reveal her mother.

"You look breath taking!" Dotty expressed as she crossed the room to embrace her daughter. "Someone's here to see you," Dotty continued as Lady Emily Farnsworth came into the room.

Looking toward the door Amanda exclaimed, "Emily!"

As Emily crossed the room to embrace the younger woman she gushed in a British accent, "Amanda, you look smashing!" I bet Lee is anxious for this!"

Amanda replied with a blush, "Yes, we both are, thank you."

"Does Lee know that you are here?"

"No, I had your mother keep it a secret. I wasn't sure that I could get things wrapped up in time to make it, besides its more fun to surprise people," Emily said with a mischievous smile on her face.

Amanda chuckled and gave her friend another hug, "I can see Lee from this window," She motioned with her head toward one of the windows which overlooked the back patio. "Why don't you go surprise him!" she continued with a sweet smile.

"By love I think I will," Emily gave Amanda another quick hug and left the room.

Amanda walked over to the window to look out and Dotty moved with her to watch, "Emily and Lee know each other?"

"Emily is with MI6 and Lee worked one of his first cases with her. They've been great friends ever since.

Dotty look dumb founded, "You mean Emily is a spy?" she asked incredulously.

Amanda chuckled, "Yes and that is exactly the way I looked and sounded when I first found out."

"So you met Emily through Lee?"

"Not exactly."

By the look of surprise and the smile spreading across his face, Amanda could tell that Lee had spotted Emily. She could make out him saying, "Emily!" as he crossed the patio to give her a bear hug.

"He does look pleased to have her here," Dotty observed. "I can't believe she is a spy! How does a sweet lady like her get involved in the spy business?"

"A lot like I did, by accident!" Amanda chuckled with a smile.

"There was another knock on the door and Philip peeked in, "Mom, are you ready?"

"Yes I am sweetheart. Oh, you look so handsome," Amanda stooped to give him a kiss on the cheek.

"Mom, please don't do that in front of anyone okay!"

"Oh of course not," Amanda solemnly replied with a small smirk on her face.

The door opened wider to reveal Jamie standing in the hall wearing a matching tux. "Why does Lee wear these things? They're uncomfortable," He stated as he pulled at the bowtie and his collar.

"Jamie don't do that! You look very handsome too!" Amanda exclaimed as she gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"She promised not to do that in front of people!" Philip explained to his brother and Jamie gave a sigh of relief. Amanda could only roll her eyes and give a soft chuckle.

They could hear the minister calling the wedding to order, so all four of them made their way to the patio doors off of the living room. They could hear the tape with the wedding march on it start. Dotty being the Matron of Honor went out first with Amanda, who was being escorted by Philip and Jamie, coming next. When the guests caught sight of the bride, they stood and turned toward the aisle. The walking down the aisle was more nerve racking to Amanda than making the marriage commitment through the saying of the vows.

The trio finally made it to the front to join Dotty, Lee, and Billy, who was standing as Lee's best man.

"Who gives this woman away in marriage?" the minister bellowed.

"We do!" both Philip and Jamie replied as they leaned up on tippy toes to simultaneously kiss their mother's cheeks, to which the audience gave a collective "awe". After making their mother smile even brighter they took their seats next to their Great-Aunt Lillian.

The minister started his charge to the couple while Amanda and Lee looked on. They had decided that even though this wasn't their actual wedding they were going to publically renew their vows to one another.

Before they knew it, it was time for them to each repeat their vows, which they had exchanged back in February. They both repeated them with all the love they felt for each other.

The minister asked for the ring from the best man. Billy reached into his pocket and handed the ring to Lee, who in turn slipped it onto Amanda's left hand ring finger, while repeating the minister.

The minister turned to Dotty and asked for Amanda's ring, who in turn handed it to Amanda. She also repeated the minister as she slipped it onto Lee's left hand ring finger.

"By the authority invested in me and by the statues of the State of Maryland; Lee Stetson and Amanda King, I am pleased to announce you man and wife. You may now kiss the bride!" Lee and Amanda took a second to smile at each other and then they kissed.

Once they broke apart, the minister had them turn toward the guests and he announced, "I now present Mr. and Mrs. Lee Stetson!" Lee took Amanda's hand and hooked it through his arm and they walked down the aisle, where they stopped behind the last row of chairs, to greet their guests.

Dotty was having the time of her life. First of all, she had her extended family here, all of her siblings together, something they hadn't been able to do in years. Secondly, she was finally able to meet Amanda's friends from her spy world. She already knew Billy Melrose and she had to admit he was a nice man. He kept walking around with a pleased smile on his face telling everyone he was taking credit for Lee and Amanda getting together. She had known Emily Farnsworth for years, but she was still in shock that Emily was a spy; that older, dear sweet lady a spy! Now that she thought about it, maybe the gray dining room walls were part of a stint she and Amanda had been on together. She also wondered if Lee had anything to do with the paint job. Amanda had supposedly hired painters to repaint the dining room, which at the time Dotty had asked where she had gotten the money to pay for it. Now she studied each of the spy guests trying to see if she recognized their faces. She had met Harry Thornton, who according to Amanda's whisper founded the Agency and recruited Lee. She smiled remembering Harry slapping Lee on the back and kissing Amanda on the forehead. Later Harry had confided in her that he had read the report of her and Amanda's kidnapping and assumed Dotty knew Amanda's true job. When she had confirmed his suspicions, he confided he had gotten Amanda, who at the time was not an agent, to help him solve a little dilemma he had found himself in. Although these small bits of information were nice, it made her long to know the whole story. She knew for sure that she should be very proud of her daughter, which she was!

She could see the boys were taken with the man they called, Leatherneck; she thought to herself that she needed to find out what his real name was. She remembered him rescuing her and Amanda from the Shenandoah National Forest. It looked like the boys and Leatherneck knew each other from before the wedding and she wondered when they had met.

Other guests were Francine, who she had met outside the dress shop; and more agents named Beamen, Fielder, Bacon, and Duffy. Dotty wondered if those were their codenames or last names; she definitely hoped they weren't their first names.

Later in the evening, Amanda and Lee cornered her away from the guests. Amanda had confided, "We are heading out, Mother. Don't worry about cleaning up; the caterers will take care of everything. Joe should be here later to get the boys," She then gave her mother a hug and kiss.

"Do you have the numbers where we can be reached at?" Lee asked.

"Yes Son, I do." Dotty gave him a loving smile.

"Where did you say we were going?" Amanda tried again to cajole the place from Lee.

"Nice try, but you'll find out soon enough," He said as he pecked her on the lips and turned to Dotty as he continued, "If you need anything call Billy!"

"Don't worry dear. I'll be fine."

"Do you remember how to set the security alarm?"

Dotty chuckled, patted Lee's arm, and confidently said, "I have the instructions you gave me written down. I want the two of you to enjoy yourself on this honeymoon since the last one was tragic, so now don't worry about anything here at home!" The three of them hugged while Dotty lovingly continued, "I love you two very much and am happy that you're part of our family Lee!"

Lee smiled which showed off his dimples and winked at his mother in law, "See you next Saturday!"

"Okay, I'll be at the airport to pick you up."

Amanda and Lee said their goodbyes to the guests, gave Philip and Jamie one last hug and kiss, and they headed out front to the waiting limousine.

**Sun. July 28, 1987 Max. Security Prison, East Germany **

The security guard, who stood watch on Birol's hall, was a man who could be bought for a handsome price. He had figured this out early in his imprisonment. The pill the security guard had obtained would stimulate a heart attack, which even though it would be quite painful would not cause death. The ultimate effect of the pill would give the appearance of death, which would buy him time in the morgue to escape. He now lay on his cot waiting for the pill he swallowed, a half an hour ago, to start having an effect.

He started with shortness of breath and an accelerated heart rate. Next, he started to feel tightness in his chest and he broke out in a cold sweat. At the prearranged time the guard on duty _happened_ to come by for a security check and noticed Birol was not right. He quickly ran down the hall yelling for a medic. The commotion brought fellow inmates to their cell doors to watch the scene unfold before them. The guard and a medic ran back to Birol's cell to start an examination. Other medics started arriving on the scene also, with little space in the cell the guard moved out.

"We need to get him to the hospital!" said the first medic on the scene.

"I'll go call for an ambulance," the guard called back. He hoped this worked and that no one would find out about his involvement, because it could be very dangerous for himself and his family, but he needed the extra money Birol was giving him.

Fifteen minutes later, the ambulance showed up and two more medics brought a gurney into Birol's cell. The original medics were working furiously to keep him "alive". "I don't know if he's going to make it to the hospital!" the first medic on the scene confided.

"All together now let's lift him on to the stretcher," said one of the medics from the ambulance.

Each of the medics lifted a corner of the blanket Birol was lying on and hoisted it onto the gurney. The two ambulance medics were rushing him down the hall to the ambulance.

At the hospital the doctors and nurses used all of their skills and knowledge to save his life, even if they wondered afterwards why they spent so much time and energy on a person who had such malice intent upon mankind. Still it was not their place to be judge and jury, but to uphold their medical creed.

A sheet was lifted up over his body to cover his head, and then he was moved to the morgue to wait for processing. One of the doctors called the prison to inform them of the fate of the notorious terrorist Addi Birol.

Birol came to in a cold, dark room. He quickly slid off the stretcher and as his eyes adjusted to the dim light, which filtered through the slim window in the door, he made his way over to it. He pulled himself up against the wall and slowly peered through the window. Seeing what looked like an empty hallway, he slowly eased the door open and inched his way through it. Very carefully and noiselessly, he shut the door behind him. He hurriedly made his way down the stark white, sterile smelling corridor to a door, with a sign on it which read 'storage'. He cautiously opened the door and slipped in to take a rest. The pill might not cause permanent damage, but it had definitely sacked a lot of his strength. He would hide out here and work on the rest of his escape plan.

He slowly started to regain consciousness as he shook the cobwebs from his brain. _How long have I slept? Are they looking for me? _He thought. _How could I be so stupid, I was supposed to be well on my way by now, but I'm still in this hospital? _He silently berated himself.

More slowly now, he got up off the floor because he had a pounding headache. He cautiously made his way to the door, and with no window in this one, he microscopically eased the door open. Finally, having a fraction of light spill into the midnight dark room, he peered as much as he could out into the corridor. As far as his sight and hearing could detect the coast was clear. Inching the door open more, he slipped out into the deserted hallway. Seeing the exit sign above a nearby door, he slipped into the cold, dark night. He saw an ambulance sitting next to the hospital with the driver still inside the vehicle. He crept up to the ambulance, and surprised the driver when he opened the door. Once the driver turned in his direction, he brought his arm up and down hard on the side of his head; knocking the driver out. He then pulled the driver from the vehicle and around a corner to undress him. A short time later, he reemerged sporting the ambulance driver's attire, he hopped into the ambulance, and speed off further into the city.

Once on the outskirts of the city, he pulled into a deserted alley and abandoned the ambulance. He quickly worked his way down the side streets and more alleys. Finally, he came upon a couple out for a stroll. He silently and listlessly made his way behind some barrels until they had passed him. He noiselessly crept up behind the man and knocked him out. Before the woman could scream he grabbed her from behind and covered her mouth with his hand; while putting his other arm around her neck to squeeze hard until she went limp in his arms. He smiled as he pulled each of them behind the barrels, knowing that when they woke they wouldn't know what had hit them, but they each would have one monster of a headache. He quickly started changing clothes again.

With a new outfit on, he ran the rest of the way through the outskirts of town, and into the country side to find a barn to sleep in. An hour later, he came across a barn and slipped inside to hunker down for the night.

Before he knew it, the early morning light was filtering through the cracks of the barn siding. He rose from the straw, found a tin cup, and helped himself to some warm milk, which the cow provided. He hoped that her bellowing was soft enough not to alert the farmer to an intruder. He found a couple of eggs beneath a hen, and made a miniscule hole with a wire he found, so he could suck the insides out of them. Not the most tantalizing breakfast, but it would have to do.

He slipped from the barn and continued farther into the countryside. After a half a day's travel, he came across an orphanage where he hoped he could seek refuge. He knocked on the door and waited for someone to answer. Slowly the door opened to reveal a nun on the other side. When the Sister saw the peasant standing on her steps she opened the door wider and asked, "Kann ich Ihnen helfen," which is May I help you in German. Her answer was Birol collapsing at her feet.

**Monday July 29, 1987 Baglioni Hotel London, UK **

Amanda woke to light streaming through the crack in the curtain. She tried to get up, but Lee took a tighter hold as he snuggled his face closer into the nape of her neck. Giving a soft sigh, she decided to enjoy the early morning snuggle, something she had rarely been able to enjoy in the five months they had been married. Going public would definitely have its advantages.

Lee slowly started to stir and rolled over onto his back bring Amanda with him. She propped herself up on her elbow to look down into her husband's sleepy face. He softly smiled up at her, raised his hand to run it through her morning mused hair as he huskily said, "Good morning."

She smiled back and softly returned, "Good morning to you too!"

"I meant to tell you I really like your new nighty," He gave her an approving look.

"It was your wedding present from Mira."

"Remind me to thank her the next time I see her!" He replied as his wife bent to give him a lingering kiss. "This is already starting out as a great honeymoon!"

**Wed. July 31, 1987 Cellarium Café & Terrace Westminster Abbey, UK **

Lee and Amanda sat on the terrace of the Cellarium Café enjoying the sunshine as they finished their late lunch. They had ventured out of their hotel room to tour the city. Lee had been to London many times on various assignments, and Amanda herself had been twice before for work; but without the demands and pressure of solving a case, this trip had been relaxing and enjoyable. Lee was seeing London through new eyes this trip, with Amanda's enthusiasm to want to visit the "must see" spots of London. Amanda herself was enjoying the extensive tour she was receiving from Lee, with his vast knowledge of the city.

The last couple of days, they had meandered through the city sightseeing and shopping. They had seen the changing of the guard in front of Buckingham Palace and walked The Mall from the palace to Trafalgar Square. They had seen the Houses of Parliament, the Palace of Westminster; which houses Big Ben and the Tower of London. The best view of all was when they strolled at dark, through St. James' Park, to see Buckingham Palace illuminated.

Yesterday, Amanda had been shocked when Lee presented her with tickets, for last night, to see A _Midsummer's Night Dream_ at Shakespeare's Globe. He had said with a wink, "I'm sure a Literature Major would find seeing a Shakespearean play preformed on a reconstructed stage, which resembles the original 'Shakespeare performance', a dream come true." 

Lee had been excited to do some shopping while here. Amanda had actually listened and packed light so they would have plenty of room for the clothes they bought. He couldn't resist buying outfits that looked wonderful on his wife. On Monday he had visited Savile Row, which housed stores with custom men's suits. He had visited his favorite shop Gieves & Hawkes to buy a handful of suits, since the states didn't produce anything this nice. He had been told that they would be ready for pick up on Wednesday afternoon, which worked out perfect, because they were leaving in the morning for the Village of Bobbington.

Bobbington was a quaint little village in the district of Staffordshire away from the hustle and bustle of London. Lee had found it years ago when he was stationed here for a year. Since that mission, he found himself coming every so often to unwind from the stresses of his profession. He was excited to surprise Amanda with this little respite before they headed back to the reality of their jobs and family.

**Thursday August 1, 1987**

"What do you mean I need to pack? We still have two full days left!" Amanda questioned her husband.

"I'm taking you to another part of the island. Trust me you will like it!" He replied and then smiled at his wife, the special smile that would melt her heart and cause her to do what he asked.

"I trust you! When do we leave?"

"In an hour. It will be about a three hour drive."

**Sat. August 3, 1987 The Red Lion Inn Bobbington, UK **

Amanda stood on the balcony, off of their room, which overlooked the lush green rolling countryside. Lee had been right she did like Bobbington. He would never cease to surprise her. This was not a place she would have envisioned Scarecrow liking, but the man, Lee Stetson, was a deferent story. She had learned over the last two years that Scarecrow and Lee Stetson were two different men. Scarecrow was the impassionate and consummate professional Federal Agent; whereas Lee Stetson was a man who once his walls were broken down could love without inhibition.

Lee softly came up behind his wife and encircled her in his arms while he slowly drank in the smell of her shampoo.

"It's beautiful isn't it?" Amanda softly whispered afraid that if she spoke louder the spell would be broken.

"It sure is," He mumbled as he bent to trail kisses down her neck.

She chuckled, turned to face her husband, and with a smile added, "I was taking about the countryside."

Lee quickly looked out past her shoulder and lowering his head to find her lips mumbled, "That too!" He quickly added more coherently while wagging his eyebrows, "I think we have plenty of time before we need to be at the airport for a little more honeymoon!" and then he lead her back into their room.


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

**Sat. August 3, 1987 St. Joseph's Orphanage, East Germany **

Birol slowly started to regain consciousness and noticed a nun hovering over him. He quickly blinked his eyes against the light, and let out a slight moan at the same time. The moans caused the nun to lean close and examine her patient.

"I see you have come back to the living," she crooned in German.

"Where…am…I?" Birol croaked through a dry mouth and parched lips.

"Here drink some water. I've tried spooning some into your mouth, but it's not the same," The nun replied in a soothing voice, as she lifted his head from the pillow and held a cup to his lips for him to sip from. After helping him drink, she laid his head back onto his pillow and continued, "You rest. I'll go fetch some broth."

Before the nun could leave, Birol grabbed her by the arm and in a pleading voice asked again, "Where am I?"

The nun looked at the man lying in front of her and said with compassion, "St. Joseph's Orphanage. Now rest. I'll be back soon." She left the room and Birol alone to his thoughts.

_How long have I been here? _Birol wondered to himself as he tried getting up, but he didn't have any strength to rise off the bed. _What was in that pill to cause me to get this way?_

It wasn't too long before the nun returned with some broth. So she could spoon broth into his mouth, she helped her patient to a sitting position. After the bowl was emptied and she had wiped his mouth, Birol ventured to ask, "How long have I been here, Sister?"

"Five days. You have been very ill with a high fever. I didn't think you would make it, but God Almighty saved you. Rest now." She smiled as she patted his hand, picked up his bowl, and left the room.

He leaned his head on his pillow, which was propped against the wall, and sighed as he thought before he started to nod off again, _I've never had anyone to be this nice to me before, not even my own mother!_

**Sat. August 3, 1987 London Heathrow Airport, UK **

"I'm sorry sir, but you and your wife are not on my passenger list for Delta Flight 218," the ticket agent said as she scanned her computer screen.

"What do you mean we are not on the list? That's the flight these tickets are for!" Lee said in a raised voice while his temper also started to rise. As other customers started looking their way, Amanda softly put her hand on her husband's arm, which immediately had a calming effect.

"There's been a mix up somehow. This flight is full. I can try to see what the next available flight is," she replied in an apologetic voice.

"I don't see how we have a choice," Lee groused as he ran his left hand through his hair. It felt like eternity as the ticket agent scanned the computer, but she finally announced triumphantly, "Flight Delta 636 to Washington Dulles International leaves only a half an hour after your original flight. There's plenty of room and to make amends for the mix up I'll put you in first class for no extra charge.

"Okay, we'll take it!" Lee snapped.

"I'm going to go call mother with the flight change while you straighten this out," Amanda said as she gave her husband's hand a squeeze.

As each of the phone lines seemed the same length, Amanda picked the closest one to stand in. She kept checking her watch realizing there wasn't going to be enough time to get her call made. She heard the first boarding call for her flight and looked around to see Lee was still working with the ticket agent. It was with the second boarding call that Lee came to get her to board the plane.

Once they were settled in first class, Amanda expressed, "Mother is going to be so worried when we don't get off that plane!"

Lee gave Amanda's hand a reassuring squeeze, "You tried to call. At least this flight is only a half an hour behind. Once we get off, this mix up will be all forgotten," he said trying to cheer her up. She looked at her husband and he gave her a soft smile, and continued as he put his arm around her, "Now relax and enjoy our flight home. Here lean your head on my shoulder."

The seat belt light went off as the captain came over the speaker to give the usual information. The stewardesses made their way down the aisles with the beverage and snack carts.

"Would you care for a drink and something to eat?" the stewardess asked politely.

"I'll have a glass of ice tea. Amanda?"

"I don't care for anything, thank you."

"You should at least have some water, honey."

The stewardess handed Lee his tea and a bottle of water for Amanda and they both told the stewardess, "Thank you." After their drinks were finished, they leaned their chairs back, snuggled close, and settled in for a nap.

**Same Day Dulles International Airport Chantilly, VA **

Dotty and Curt where at the airport to pick up Amanda and Lee. Dotty couldn't wait to hear about their honeymoon. She herself had had a wonderful week with her sisters, who had decided to stay for a few extra days. She and her sisters had done plenty of shopping, eating, and socializing. She wished that they lived closer.

As Dotty turned to look out the window, a huge fire ball lite up the night sky and the impact of the blast rattled the building, where it threw people to the floor, "What was that?" Dotty gasped.

"Nothing good that's for sure!" Curt replied back as he picked himself up off the floor and held out his hand to help Dotty up.

After a few minutes, they heard over the intercom, "Ladies and gentlemen, I'm saddened to say Delta Flight 218 has blown up. Please be patient as we compile an official passenger list."

"That's Lee and Amanda's flight," a hysterical Dotty screamed.

"Now wait minute, Dotty. Maybe you have the flight numbers mixed up. Let's not get worked up until the official list comes out," Curt soothingly replied as he put his arm around her. He led her through a maze of distraught people, grieving loved ones, who were probably on the flight, to an empty chair. They sat down and he held her hand while she stared off into space.

After a while she excitedly said, as she started to scan the room for a phone, "I know! I need to call Amanda and Lee's boss." Spotting the phones, she jumped up and headed to them.

"Now, Dotty, what good would a film producer do? Look the lines are really long. Why don't we go back, sit down, and wait."

"I don't care! I've got to call him," she said adamantly as she made her way to the end of one of the lines.

Curt sighed and followed to stand in line to keep her company. _If it brings her comfort then what it is going to hurt to call him, _he thought to himself.

**Airplane **

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. We are being rerouted to JFK International in New York City. Sorry for the inconvenience, but we don't have any further details. Estimated arrival will be 11:30 pm.

Amanda bolted up in her seat, "Lee, what do you think is going on? Mother will be crazy with worry!"

Lee moved his seat into an upright position and took his wife's hand, "Let me go see if I can find out what's going on." He rose from his seat and walked to the stewardess at the front of the plane. As he walked down the aisle, he could hear the murmur of fellow passengers wanting to know what was going on. Approaching the stewardess, he flashed his Stetson smile while he pulled his Federal ID from his pocket. Opening his ID he said with authority, "Federal Agent Lee Stetson, I would like to talk with the Captain."

"Uh…um…let me tell him. I need you to wait here," the stewardess nervously replied. Opening the cockpit door, she disappeared inside and immediately reopened the door to allow Lee's admittance.

Lee walked into the cockpit, flashed his ID, and asked; "Do you know why we are being rerouted?"

"Delta Flight 218, which was a half an hour in front of us, blew up while nearing Washington Dulles. All flights are being rerouted to New York or Chicago. I'll announce the bombing when we land, but it will be mayhem at all of these airports," the Captain explained.

"Thanks, let me know if you need any help sir," Lee stated as he left the cockpit.

He made his way back to Amanda, who wore an anxious look on her face, "What'd you find out?" she leaned into him and whispered as soon as he was in his seat.

Lee sighed and put his arm around his wife, pulled her closer until his lips where by her ear and whispered, "Delta Flight 218 blew up while nearing Washington Dulles."

"What! Oh my gosh!" Amanda said loudly.

"Shhhhh…keep it down," Lee admonished while patting her arm with his free hand.

"Sorry, but Lee if our tickets hadn't gotten mixed up…"Amanda trailed off in a whisper this time.

"I know! I know!" he said soothingly while stroking her arm.

"Lee! Mother's at the airport! She's going to be worried sick!" she said more loudly again. Grabbing his arm she turned wide eyes to his face and blurted, "Oh my gosh, what if the boys were with her at the airport!"

"Shhhh…we'll get it figured out. We need to stay calm and think!" Lee said in a calm voice.

Lee came to full attention as a passenger, from behind them, approached the stewardess up front. "Miss I want to know why we have been rerouted," the passenger demanded in a loud voice.

"Sir, the captain will explain in his own time," the stewardess replied pleasantly.

"I want to see the captain," the passenger demanded as he pushed the stewardess aside and started to open the cockpit door.

As Lee's agent mode kicked in, he bolted from his seat and quickly started for the cockpit door. The stewardess righted herself and pushed the door closed while stating, "Only authorized personal can go in there!"

"That other guy got to go in and I want to too!" the passenger was shouting now.

Lee approached the passenger and the stewardess, and asked her while looking sternly at the other man, "Is there a problem here?"

"Yes, I want to know what's going on!" the passenger snapped.

"So does everyone else," Lee snapped back.

"You're one to talk! I've seen you and your wife huddled together whispering. You know what's going on and I want to know too!" The irate passenger bit out as he took a swing at Lee, which he quickly blocked. Lee grabbed the passenger's arm and swung the man around while pinning his arm up and behind him.

"I don't think you want to do this. Now, why don't you calmly go and sit down. We should be in New York shortly!" Lee explained in his agent tone of voice, which emanated authority and commanded obedience. "I'll let you go if you go back to your seat without a problem. If you agree to this command, nod your head yes."

The passenger slowly nodded his head "yes" so he released the man's arm. The passenger turned around to face Lee and gave him a stare, but slowly moved to his seat and sat down.

"Thank you sir!" the stewardess graciously thanked him.

"You're welcome," He stated as he turned to go to his seat.

Sitting down he took Amanda's hand again and leaned in close to whisper in her ear, "We were right behind the plane that blew. We should be the first extra flight into JFK. We can call you mother and rent a car to drive home. We could be home in time for breakfast."

Amanda smiled at her husband's optimism, _that's one of the things I love about him,_ she thought. Her smile slowly faded and she expressed her thought out loud, "Yeah, but all other international flights are being rerouted too!" All either one of them could do was to sigh.

**Washington Dulles **

"Mr. Melrose, this is Dotty West. I'm sorry to bother you at home, but when I called with this information they gave me this number. I am at the airport to pick Lee and Amanda up from their honeymoon, but the plane that they were on just BLEW UP," a frantic Dotty rattled out.

"What! Are you sure?" Billy yelled. And even though the receiver was against Dotty's ear, Curt could hear his reply.

"It was the flight number they gave me, but the airline hasn't published the official passenger list," Dotty quickly explained.

"I'm going to make some phone calls to see what I can find out. I'll be back in touch," Billy said and hung up the phone.

Dotty pulled the receiver away from her ear and looked at it for a second and muttered, "He didn't get this number. How is he going to call back?"

**Billy's Office, The Agency **

"I need to know if Lee and Amanda Stetson were on Delta Flight 218 from London to Dulles," Billy gruffly told the airline ticket agent at Dulles.

"I'm sorry sir, but we aren't releasing the list quite yet. We have to notify the next of kin first," the voice on the other end replied.

"Okay let me rephrase this, I'm Federal Agent William Melrose and I need to know if two of my agents Lee and Amanda Stetson were on that flight and I need it yesterday!" Billy bellowed into the phone while waving Francine, who had just arrived, into his office.

"If I could get your number sir, I'll do all I can to find out who was officially on the plane," the ticket agent answered nervously. Billy gave her his number and slammed down the phone.

Looking at Francine, who had taken a seat in front of his desk, Billy started to explain, "The flight Lee and Amanda were scheduled on blew up near landing at Washington Dulles…"

Before he could finish, Francine bolted out of her chair and exclaimed with wide eyes, "What!?"

Billy held up a hand for her to stop, hoping it would have a calming effect on her, as he took his seat and finished telling what he knew, "We don't know for sure they were even on the flight. This is the NTSB's jurisdiction and we don't know anything right now. It could just be a coincidence that it was their flight that blew. I want you to pick Mrs. West up at the airport and take her home."

"How long before we know for sure if they were on the flight?" Francine asked in disbelief as she sat back down.

"I don't know; the airline is who I was talking to when you came in."

"Okay, I'll be back later," Francine said as she got up and left Billy's office.

**Washington Dulles **

"Phone call for Dotty West at ticket counter two, Phone call for Dotty West at ticket counter two!" the announcement came over the airport's loud speaker.

Dotty jumped from her seat and frantically looked for ticket counter two. Curt took her hand and led her to the ticket agent. After arriving there she blurted, "I'm Dotty West, the phone call is for me."

The ticket agent picked up the receiver and handed it to Dotty while she hit the extension button. "This is Dotty West," she said quickly and a little reluctantly into the phone.

"Mrs. West, this is Billy Melrose. We don't have the official passenger list yet, but one of my agents, Francine Desmond, is coming to pick you up and escort you home. I don't know how long it will take her to get through," Billy explained in a caring and sympathetic tone.

"Oh thank you, thank you very much. It's a relief to know you are working on this," Dotty gushed.

Francine slowly made her way through the mayhem of Dulles. There were fires, debris, government agents, and cars everywhere. Finally with the help of her Federal ID, she made her way through to the airport terminal. After working her way through the droves of people and feeling like she was looking for a needle in a haystack, she spotted Dotty. "Mrs. West, I'm Francine Desmond, I was asked to escort you home," She explained in a sympathetic tone.

Dotty slowly nodded her head and remembered to explain, "This is my friend, Curt. He drove me here."

Francine turned to look at the handsome, older man and smiled while she explained, "Its total chaos out there. It would probably be best if you both rode with me and you can pick up your car later."

Curt returned her smile and offered, "Okay, but if you would like I can drive."

"That's awfully sweet, but I think I can handle it," Francine laughed as the three started to work their way out of the airport.

"Do you think Lee and Amanda were on the plane?" a reluctant Dotty asked in a tremulous voice while tears threatened to spill from her eyes.

"We won't know until the airline releases the passenger list. Billy's doing all he can to pressure the airline," Francine confessed as she awkwardly tried to put a comforting hand on Dotty's arm.

They made their way out of the airport, to Francine's car, and drove to Rockville in relative silence. Once they pulled in front of the house, Dotty politely asked, "Would you like to come in for anything to eat or drink?"

"I'll have to take a rain check. I need to get back to the office and see if Billy's found out anything."

"Okay, thanks for coming to get us and call when you find out anything!"

**JFK International **

Lee and Amanda's plane came to taxi up the runway and stopped at the gate. The flight attendant announced to the passengers that they could unbuckle their seatbelts. The Captain came over the speaker and made his own announcement, "The reason for the rerouting was because Delta Flight 218, which was a half an hour before us, blew up while descending for landing at Washington Dulles. Sorry, but I don't have any further details. I would like Lee and Amanda Stetson to exit the plane first. Sorry for the inconvenience."

Lee stood and started getting their bags from the overhead compartment. So that he could keep an eye on his wife, he stepped back to allow her to move in front of him. As they made their way to the exit, the captain thanked Lee for his help in defusing the situation with the passenger. They then made their way down the jet way and into the terminal, which seemed to be nothing but a vast sea of people. Lee made sure he had a death grip on Amanda's hand because the hustle and bustle of the airport was hard to maneuver in. "Let's worry about getting our luggage later. Let's see if we can get to a phone to call your mother and then see about renting a car," He said as he propelled his wife along into the throng.

"Lee we aren't going to be able to rent a car at this time of night," She practically pointed out.

"Let's find a phone and I can call a buddy of mine who lives here in the city," He suggested. The search for a phone turned up futile, with each line being extremely long, and all the ticket agents were busy with mostly irate customers. "This is useless! What are we going to do?"

"My buddy doesn't live to far from here so let's walk. Come on!" He said as he started to lead her out the nearest exit and into the night.

Once they were on the sidewalk, Amanda suggested, "Maybe we can find a phone out here better." But as they walked on it seemed other people had the same idea; she let out a long sigh.

Lee put his arm around her, hugged his wife close, and comfortingly said, "I know, we'll get it figured out. Hey, at least we're alive even if no one else knows it. Come on my buddy's only a couple more blocks away!"

They made it to the apartment building and rang the bell for the doorman. The doorman cracked the door and asked, "How may I help you?"

"We would like to see Daniel Wood. He's not expecting us, but we just happened to be in town. Just tell him Stetson is here and he'll let us up," Lee explained.

"I'm sorry sir, but Mr. Wood doesn't live here anymore," the doorman replied and started to shut the door.

Lee stuck his foot into the crack and quickly added, "Our plane got rerouted here because a plane blew up near Dulles. Could we please use the phone?"

"Sorry sir, but it's against company polices," the doorman tried again to shut the door on Lee's foot.

Lee pushed his shoulder into the opening and tried again, "Listen, we were originally scheduled for that flight, but there was a mix up with our tickets. Our family thinks we have died in the explosion. So please, could we use the phone to call and let them know we are okay?" Lee imploringly explained as he held pleading eyes on the doorman.

The doorman sighed, started to say no, but when he saw the pleading look on Amanda's face also he relented. "I guess management would understand this once," he said as he opened the door for them to enter.

"Oh thank you sir! My mother's probably beside herself with worry!" Amanda explained.

Lee dialed their home number and let it ring at least twenty times, but finally hung up in frustration. Running an agitated hand through his hair, he sighed and admitted, "Your mother must have turned the answering machine off and she's probably stuck in the chaos at Dulles. Come on let's go see if we can find a car to get home. Thank you for letting us use the phone."

Lee took Amanda's hand and turned to leave. When they got to the door the doorman spoke up, "My brother owns a used car lot. Maybe I can get him to rent one to you." Lee and Amanda turned to face the doorman with the first hopeful looks they had had on their faces since early afternoon.

**Sun. August 4, 1987 Stetson Household, MD **

Dotty and Curt were dozing on the couch when the doorbell rang. Dotty bolted from the couch and headed for the door. Looking out the front window, she saw Billy Melrose standing on the porch and this made a larger lump to form in her throat. Opening the door, she greeted him with, "Mr. Melrose, please come in." By this time Curt was standing next to her in the foyer.

Billy came into the house and in a tired tone explained, "I have confirmed that Lee and Amanda were not on Delta Flight 218," he sighed in relief after saying this.

"Oh thank goodness!" Dotty exclaimed throwing her hands in the air and giving Billy a hug. Once she realized what she had done, she pulled back and quickly inserted, "I'm sorry Mr. Melrose!"

"Just call me, Billy, and I can understand. I'll admit Francine and I hugged too when we got the news."

"Since they weren't on the plane, do you know where they are? Were they the target?" a fearful Dotty asked.

"I don't know the answers to either question, but the good news is that no one is bragging that they have them. Hopefully it's as simple as they are on another flight that's been rerouted, and they haven't been able to call. I had better go. I just wanted to bring you the good news in person. I'll call if I find out anything more, and if they call you let me know." Billy opened the door and slipped into the night.

An exuberant Dotty turned and gave Curt a celebratory hug. Curt returned the hug and was slowly realizing that there seemed to be more to Lee and Amanda's job than film making.

* * * * * * * * Again Dotty and Curt were dozing on the couch when they heard a loud banging, clanking, clinging noise outside and then all at once it was silent. Dotty groggily gave a confused look to Curt, shrugged her shoulders, and rose from the couch to once again go look out the front window, while Curt followed closely behind. The sight she saw before her made her yell in excitement. She pulled open the door and flew down the steps while screeching Amanda's name over and over. "Amanda you're here, really here!" she screamed as she threw her arms around her daughter, who had just climbed out of the dilapidated car.

"Oh Mother!" Amanda in turn replied while hugging her mother close.

Pulling back, Dotty looked from Amanda to Lee and confessed, "It was just horrible seeing that plane blow up and thinking you two were gone…" Dotty trailed off while tears from the memory started running down her cheeks.

"I'm sorry Mother, our tickets were mixed up and we didn't have time to call from London. Then we got rerouted to New York and it was a zoo there. We tried calling, but couldn't get an answer. We were fortunate someone let us rent this car to get home!" Amanda explained.

Lee had made his way over to the two women and Dotty put her arms around both of them and exclaimed, "I am so relieved you both are okay! How about I fix some breakfast?"

"Sounds good mother," Amanda replied as the three of them walked back into the house.

Once they were inside, Lee whispered to Amanda, "I'm going to call Billy," and he headed to their office. Closing the door, he picked up the phone and dialed the Agency's number. After waiting for the operator to answer, Lee said, "This is Scarecrow, I need Billy Melrose!"

After a moment Lee heard, "Scarecrow! Where are you man!?" an excited Billy answered.

"At home. It's a long story. What's going on?"

"Not much to tell. It's NTSB's jurisdiction. We've been trying to locate you and Amanda. We were starting to see if you two were the target."

"I'll be in, but it might be a little while. I want to make sure Dotty's okay."

"See you in a bit then," Billy replied back.

Lee hung up the phone and made his way back to the kitchen where Dotty, with Amanda and Curt's help, was putting the finishing touches on breakfast. The three sat down to eat pancakes and drink strong, black coffee. After a leisurely breakfast, with each couple telling their stories, Lee announced, "I need to head to the office to check on a few things."

"Aw, Lee, do you have to?" Amanda pouted.

"Sorry honey, but hopefully I won't be gone long!" He said with optimism. Amanda gave her husband a knowing look and a smirk.

Dotty came over to Lee and held out a travel mug to him, "You can use some more coffee to go, Son."

"Thanks Dotty!" He said sincerely and kissed her on the cheek. He then bent and kissed Amanda, "I'll call when I can!"

"Be careful!" Amanda lovingly replied; to which he flashed her one of his smiles.

As he turned to walk out of the room Dotty called, "Lee!"

He turned back to look at his mother in law, "Yeah?"

"Curt's truck was left at the airport when Billy sent Francine to pick us up."

"Okay, I'll take care of it!" and he was out the door.

The sound of the doorbell ringing jolted Amanda awake. Her mother and Curt had gone upstairs to take naps, with Curt using her and Lee's room. She padded to the front door and saw Micah McMillan standing on the porch. She opened the door and cheerfully greeted, "Hi Micah!"

"We brought the truck from the airport as Scarecrow told us too," he replied and then continued as he nodded to a fellow agent, James Douglas, "We were told to pick up the vehicle you drove from New York because we're taking it back tomorrow morning," the huge grin showed he liked the adventure of the espionage business.

"Okay let me get the keys for you," Amanda was gone only a minute when she returned with the keys.

"Thank you Mrs. King…I mean Mrs. Stetson," he retracted with a grin.

"Thank you Micah. You two have a safe trip tomorrow." She watched them get in the vehicles and drive away.

Dotty and Curt were still sleeping when Philip and Jamie came home. The joy of seeing their mom was evident on their faces and the extra-long hug showed they had missed her. "Oh, I missed you two so much," Amanda gushed as she in turn hugged her boys extra tight. Joe watched the exchange from across the room.

"Where's Lee?" Philip asked.

"He had to go to the office for a little bit," she said quickly and then trying to brush it off added, "I can't wait to hear about all the things you did with your father this past week."

"Okay, but we want to go put our stuff away," Jamie added.

"Make sure you are quiet because your Grandmother and Curt are napping!"

Philip and Jamie gave her puzzled looks, but Amanda shooed them up the stairs with a wave of her hand.

Joe watched as the boys left the room and headed up the stairs; waiting until they were out of ear shot he asked, "Does this have to do with that plane blowing up?" He made his way closer to Amanda so they could have a more private conversation.

"Yeah, we were supposed to be on the flight, but our tickets got mixed up." Amanda whispered.

Joe's eyes widened and he ventured to ask, "Is someone out to get you? Wait a minute someone's probably always out to get you two!" he shook his head in disbelief. "How can you live like this, Amanda?"

"Joe, I'm too tired to discuss this now! Thanks for taking the boys this past week," Amanda said sincerely and gave her ex-husband an appreciative smile.

"It really was my pleasure. You've done a fine job of raising the boys, Amanda! Glad that you're safe! I guess I'll be going."

"Thanks again, for everything!" She replied as she walked her ex-husband to the door.

Amanda was in the kitchen chopping up vegetables for a salad, and the boys were outside shooting hoops when Curt came into the room. "Thanks for letting me use your bed, Amanda!"

She gave him a soft smile and gently replied, "Hope the rest did you good. I want to thank you for being there for my mother, it really means a lot to me!"

"Oh, you're welcome! I do feel better, but I'm getting too old for crazy sleep patterns. I saw my truck's out there. Since he didn't have a key, I sure am curious to know how Lee managed to get it here." Curt gave Amanda a mischievous smile and continued, "I guess I'll head on home."

"Stay for supper. I'm going to order pizza and hopefully Lee will be home soon."

"I've imposed enough."

"Imposed! Nonsense! You were there for my Mother and I can't thank you enough," She sincerely said again.

"Amanda…I know I probably shouldn't…you probably can't tell…" Curt was having a difficult time asking about the true nature of their jobs; and he didn't get a further chance when they heard the front door open and close.

Lee, who looked like death warmed over, made his way into the kitchen. He gave Amanda a kiss and went to pour himself a scotch. Looking at Curt he offered him a drink and Curt accepted the offer, "See they got your truck to you." Lee stated politely.

"Yes, thanks for taking care of it!" Curt sincerely said, but as he found Lee a little intimidating, he didn't ask how he arranged it.

"Did you find out anything?" Amanda asked out of curiosity.

"Absolutely nothing! I have a few more calls to make tonight," he explained as he leaned against the counter.

"Can't those calls wait until tomorrow?"

"I want to have them out of the way because we already have way too much to do tomorrow," Lee replied as he pushed himself off the counter and headed to the reclining chair to prop his feet up. Curt joined him in the living room and sat down on the couch.

Amanda called from the kitchen, "I'm ordering pizza for supper."

"Good, I'm starved. Oh by the way, I called New York about our luggage. McMillan and Douglas are going to pick them up when they take the rental car back. We should have our things Tuesday at the latest," Lee said through a yawn.

"Oh, good!" She called, and then after a few minutes later, she followed with, "Listen, I can make those calls for you tonight. I've had a nap and you must be exhausted…," but Amanda stopped her ramble when she walked into the living room and saw her husband sound asleep.


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

**Sat. August 10, 1987 St. Joseph's Orphanage, East Germany **

While chopping fire wood, Birol was doing some serious contemplation. He had been here almost two weeks now and was ready to move on, but he needed to get past the wall. The Berlin Wall was a real challenge_. How can I get across?_Hhe pondered. _I need a good and convincing story for sure!_ Getting an arm load of wood, he headed into the side door, which led to the kitchen. Sister Margit was stirring porridge in an enormous kettle and offered a soft smile as he walked by. Placing the wood in the box beside the stove, he turned to the Sister, returned her smile, and offered in fluent German, "Good morning, Sister Margit."

"You can take the porridge into the dining room, Olaf," Sister Margit instructed him.

He lifted the heavy kettle from the stove and proceeded to carry it to the dining room where he set it in the middle of a humongous picnic style table. Sister Margit rang the bell, which signaled the start of meals, and thirty orphans emerged from the second story. Three other nuns came from the kitchen with bowls, cups, and milk in hand while Father Freitag came from his study. Each child stood behind the benches until morning prayers had been lifted up by the Father. After prayer and the children were seated, Mother Katja spooned porridge into each bowl, while Sister Anka poured fresh milk into glasses. The children waited until everyone had received their portions, said a collective "thank you", and started to eat. After eating, each child took their place setting to the kitchen where they washed, dried, and stored their own things on the shelf. The orphans proceeded to the classrooms, where girls were in one room with Mother Katja and the boys where in another room with Father Freitag.

Sister Margit said to Birol, "Olaf, I can use your help in the garden," and she headed out the door. He followed obediently behind her, which amused him that he would allow himself to be treated as a school boy.

They worked silently together in the garden for quite a while until Birol broke the silence, "My Katrina loved to work in the garden. She said it was her pride and joy," he tried to sound as wistful as he could.

"Where is your Katrina?" Sister Margit asked out of curiosity, but with a gentle tone.

"She and my five 'kindheit' where killed by the Stasi. I came home from the fields for lunch one day and they were lying in front of our cottage…" here he stopped, tried to fane swallowing emotion, and then he added almost in a whisper, "executed." He paused for a moment and finished with, "I don't know why they did not wait for me, but I knew I had to flee. I ran for nearly a week until I reached your orphanage. I have a brother in West Germany that I need to get too!"

"Why did the Stasi's kill your family?" Sister Margit asked sympathetically.

"They had been watching us closely thinking we were going to escape. They were looking to accuse me of trying to start a revolt, with extremists, here in East Germany through the aid of supporters in West Germany. My brother and his family is all I have left," he tried to sound as pitiful as he could.

"We have a sister orphanage in West Germany. Father Mathias comes here the first of every month to bring us supplies. Let me talk with Father Freitag and see if there is something that can be arranged." Sister Margit spoke a loud, while she was getting excited about the prospect of helping Olaf further after his great loss.

_That's a little over two weeks. I think I can handle this arrangement for the time being, _he thought to himself. To Sister Margit he replied, "I would be most grateful if you would speak with Father Freitag."

**Mon. Aug. 12, 1987 Agency, Q-Bureau, MD **

Amanda was working on the prisoner lists she had acquired from the prisons in West and East Germany. She had been working on them, between other pressing tasks, off and on for the past week. She was up through the year 1985 with bother prisons, and she had come across no link yet.

While she was concentrating on the list, the phone rang. She reached to pick it up, and after putting the receiver to her ear said, "Q-Bureau, Amanda Stetson."

"Amanda, I need to see you and Lee in my office," Billy replied.

"Lee's out of the office right now. I'm supposed to meet him in an hour for lunch. Can we come afterwards or is it urgent?"

"No, you two enjoy your lunch. I'll schedule you for one o'clock though."

"Okay, I'll tell him, bye."

Billy returned the good-bye and Amanda returned to her lists. Before she knew it, it was lunch time and she headed out to meet Lee.

After lunch they returned to the Agency and headed straight to Billy's office. Lee knocked on the door, proceeded to open it, and lead Amanda through. Billy was looking through a file when Lee and Amanda walked in and took their usual places. He looked up and sighed, "Looks like your suspicions were right, Scarecrow!"

Both Lee and Amanda looked at Billy in confusion. "What suspicions are you talking about, Sir?" Amanda voiced for the two of them.

Right before your wedding Lee had brought me a report of his suspicions that Karbala had reformed. We got word this morning that they are taking responsibility for the plane bombing." As Billy explained this, Amanda opened her eyes wide and turned in disbelief to her husband. Billy reading Amanda's look as one of concern of Addi Birol being behind the group continued, "Now, Amanda we shouldn't get worried that Birol is at the heart of this; the last we knew he was tucked away in prison."

Amanda, who had been looking at her husband through this last explanation, shook her head, chuckled, and said in an incredulous tone, "I don't believe you! You kept down playing my gut instinct of Karbala having reformed, and then you go separate from me to file a report on it! I thought we were partners Lee," by now the hurt was evident in her voice and she looked at her hands clasped in her lap.

"Amanda, it wasn't like that! I can explain," Lee rushed out with a sigh.

She turned hurt eyes to her husband, "I'm listening."

"A month ago when I took the boys to the track I stopped to get gas. Rhonda told me the rumor was that Karbala was reforming. So naturally I stopped at the ice cream shop to have T.P. look into it. I didn't want to bring it up until I had anything concrete. Well, right before our wedding T.P. sent the confirmation over and I passed it on to Billy. I didn't say anything because I wanted to leave work behind for our honeymoon. I'm sorry honest; I didn't mean to get credit."

Amanda gave her husband a soft smile and replied, "I think I understand how it happened." Turning to Billy she asked, "What do you want us to do?"

"I want the two of you to track down where Karbala is at and who is the leader."

Lee rolled his eyes, sighed, and huffed, "Easier said than done!"

Amanda spoke up, "I have a list of all the prisoners from the prison Baron Von Eiger was in, and the one Birol is in to see if there is a connection between the two."

Billy gave her a concerned look, "Is there a reason you think they are connected?"

"I vaguely remember Von Eiger asking me questions about Karbala, Birol, and the Habib brothers; but with the truth serum I don't remember for sure if it really happened," Amanda explained.

Billy thought for a minute and replied, "It won't hurt to see if they are connected somehow. Although, it seems unlikely since they were and are in prisons in two different countries. That's all I have for now."

"We'll get right on it sir," Amanda added as she rose from her chair, took Lee's out stretched hand, and left Billy's office.

**Wed. Aug. 14, 1987 Stetson household 3:00am**

"No, please don't!" Amanda started muttering in her sleep. "Get away!" she added a little louder which caused Lee to stir. "I don't know who nightcrawler is!" Amanda yelled which brought Lee fully awake.

"Amanda, honey…" Lee shook his wife gently.

Amanda started to get restless by moving back and forth as she screamed, "No! Get away!"

Lee shook his wife harder and soothingly said, "Amanda! Wake up!" She finally came fully awake with a rapid heartbeat and ragged breathing. She looked at Lee with wide, brown eyes while he opened his arms for her. She moved into the safety of his embrace and clung tight.

After a few minutes of Lee clenching and unclenching his jaw, he ventured to ask as he soothingly caressed her back, "Are your nightmares about Birol?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

"A wise woman has told me talking about your feelings is good," Lee lovingly reminded her.

"I really don't want to talk about it," she insisted.

"Maybe you should talk to Pfaff then," Lee said with a hint of frustration in his voice.

"I'll think about it. Let's try to go back to sleep," she replied as she pushed her husband back on the mattress so she could cuddle. She was thankful, not for the first time, for the small stream of light coming from the bathroom, which her husband insisted of being left on.

**Thur. Aug. 22, 1987 The Agency, Q-Bureau **

More than a week passed since Billy gave them the assignment of locating Karbala cells, and it seemed as if they had made no progress. Amanda had linked Baron Von Eiger to Ahab Habib and Birol to Armen Habib; but that was as far as her research had progressed. She was waiting on information, from those prisons, as to if those prisoners had contact with each other. Even if this seemed far-fetched, she hoped the two brothers kept in touch and maybe they were the link. She glanced at the clock and saw the time was four thirty. Looking over at her husband, who was busy at his desk, she spoke up, "We probably should knock off so we can have supper and get to the boys' school open houses."

Lee looked up sharply, "Oh boy, I didn't realize it was that late! Yeah, let's get going." He straightened up to his standards; stood, and moved over to Amanda's desk. He helped his wife out of her seat and out of the Q-Bureau's door.

**Same Day Georgetown Preparatory School **

Lee, Amanda, Philip and Jamie were getting a tour of their new school by Principal Frank Graybill. The school had a nice layout made of three buildings. One building was for the elementary, one for the middle school; which Jamie would attend, and one for high school; which Philip would attend. They were almost finished with the tour, and were escorted to the area where they would receive their class schedules and meet with their teachers.

Jamie, who was very excited, couldn't wait to get his schedule and meet with his teachers. He was interested in seeing if he could join the photography class for one of his electives.

Philip was very apprehensive about the new school. School had never been his strong suit, and now they would be going to a private school, which his friends from Arlington had informed him, would have higher academic standards. Personally, he was hoping to make the basketball and then baseball teams. Baseball was his first love, but basketball would fill in the long winter season. "Mom, do you think it would be okay if I picked up my own schedule and check out the high school alone?" Philip asked with a slight hint of pleading in his voice.

"I don't know sweetheart. I want to meet your teachers," Amanda explained.

"I'm not a baby Mom. Schools always have those back to school nights and you could meet them then," Philip was begging her, with his eyes, to give in.

"You know Amanda; it would be good for Philip to go alone. He's in high school now and doesn't need or want as much hovering from his mom." Lee remembering what it was like to be a high schooler, was hoping to keep his step-son from the embarrassment he had had as a teenager.

Amanda turned on her husband and before she could say anything Lee added, "We could let Philip go alone at first, and then meet him at the end to make sure everything checks out."

Philip looked at his step father, with gratitude on his face, because Lee seemed to understand. _He probably had it worse growing up in the military with an uncle, who was a Colonel, _Philip thought.

"I guess that would work," Amanda gave in and she added to Philip, "If you need help we will be in here. We'll meet you over there in an hour or so."

"Thanks Mom, Lee!" Philip quickly said as he hurried off before his mom could change

her mind.

Turning to Jamie, Amanda said, "Okay sweetheart let's go to the seventh grade orientation," and the trio headed toward the gym.

Jamie found the table for seventh graders, and with his mom and Lee in tow went to stand in line. Shortly he reached the table and an aid said, "Your name please."

"Jamie King, ma'am."

She leafed through the file folder and came to his name. She extracted the packet and handed it to him, while pleasantly explaining with a smile, "Here you go young man. All seventh graders have a study hall and one elective. There is a list of electives, which you can choose from, included in the packet."

"Thank you!" Jamie replied. He turned and made his way toward his mom and Lee, and they made their way over by the wall to look at his schedule. "I want to see about the photography class first thing before it gets filled up!" He excitedly said as Lee and Amanda exchanged smiles and followed him down the hall.

After getting Jamie signed up for photography, the three were walking down the hall when Lee heard, "Stetson, hold up!" Lee turned around to see Senator Holcolm coming towards him.

Lee sighed and muttered to Amanda, "Great!" to the Senator he smiled, stuck out his hand, and pleasantly replied, "Senator," the two men shook hands, "You remember my wife, Amanda?"

"Oh yes, nice to see you again, "he said to Amanda, but turning back to Lee he asked, "Is there a problem with security?"

Amanda quickly turned to Jamie and pointed out, "Sweetheart, why don't you see if you can find your locker?"

"Your boy Stetson? I didn't know you had kids!"

"My stepson, Jamie. He's in seventh grade.

"My daughter, Desiree, is in seventh grade also. She's over there. I was afraid there were security problems here at the school."

"No we decided we would put our sons here since there is good security."

"Good, a lot of congressmen and diplomats send their kids here. Good luck and see you two later."

"Good bye, Senator."

Later as the family was driving home, Jamie was talking a mile a minute about his upcoming classes, and he was ecstatic about being in the photography class. Philip was extremely quiet and almost sullen looking. Amanda tried to coerce information from him, but all she could get was 'uhs' and 'grunts'. She sighed and hoped she would be able to get him to talk later.

**Sat. Aug. 24, 1987 Stetson Household **

The occupants of the Stetson household were sitting at the kitchen table, where they had just finished eating breakfast; except for Lee, who just had a couple cups of coffee, which had caused Dotty to keep explaining to him the merits of eating a good breakfast.

"It's no use Mother. Lee prefers a stale donut and day old coffee for breakfast," Amanda smirked mischievously at her mother.

Lee, who was absorbed in the Sports section of the newspaper didn't know of the facial exchange between mother and daughter, and replied to his wife in frustration, "I've told you Amanda, a Biscotto is not a stale donut, but a Italian delicatessen that you dip in coffee. Plus my coffee is not day old, but a rich Columbian Blend."

"So basically you make a fresh pot of coffee that tastes like it is a day old," Amanda replied while trying to keep her mirth from escaping.

Lee thinking back to the first big fight of their marriage, sighed in exasperation, and dragged out, "Amdraaaaanda," which was his signal of not wanting to continue the conversation. He finally looked up, when the table sat in complete silence for a few moments, to see his wife smiling at him. Her playful, dancing eyes, which twinkled with laughter; and her mirthful smile, conveyed to him that she was teasing. Lee returned her look with a wink, a smirk, and a shake of his head, and replied "Oh you!" as he leaned over and gave her a peck on the cheek. The other occupants of the table were laughing at his expense.

The boys had been talking about shooting baskets and how to spend the last weekend before school, but their mother put a damper on their moods when she announced, "Well fellas we need to go school shopping today," as she gathered her place setting and headed to the sink.

Both Philip and Jamie moaned and collectively replied, "Oh Mom, we want to hang out on our last days of summer break!"

"Sorry fellas, the start of school has snuck up on me with everything else that's been going on. How about we get ready and go; then you can have the rest of the weekend."

"Mom, aren't we a little old, no offense, for you to be taking us clothes shopping," Philip quickly inserted.

Amanda, not sure if she was excited about her oldest son's quest for independence, flatly stated, "How do you plan on paying for your clothes?"

"You could drop us off at the store with the money," Philip practically replied.

"Yeah, that would be so cool!" Jamie added to the conversation.

"I don't know. I really don't want to have to take things back if they don't fit."

While Lee was contemplating whether he should step in and help his wife or let her handle the situation Philip piped up, "Lee could take us school shopping!"

"I don't know sweetheart, that might not be something Lee is comfortable with; but maybe he would like to go with us."

He looked from his wife's sympathetic eyes to his stepsons' pleading faces. He could hear himself saying, "Amanda, really I don't mind. I would like to take the boys shopping!"

Before he could totally finish, the boys were yelling, "Yeah!" and heading out of the room and upstairs to get ready.

"Lee you really don't…"

He quickly interrupted her with, "No Amanda, I really want to take the boys shopping, but I do need you to tell me what to get."

"You're serious aren't you…"

Lee took a hold of her hand, "Yes, I want to do this! Now, Senior Agent of the home front, give me the details of Operation School Shopping."

Dotty couldn't help laughing at her daughter and son in law as they bantered back and forth with each other.

**Peppertree Mall**

Lee carried the shopping bags as the boys walked beside him. While Philip kept a running commentary on the girls he saw; Lee was trying to mentally check the items off the list Amanda had given him: five pairs of blue jeans each, five long sleeved shirts each, each a pair of tennis shoes, and a new jacket. They still needed the tennis shoes and jackets. _Boy this is a lot easier than I thought it would be. Amanda's boys are very easy to please, but there are a few things I want them to have, especially with them going to a private school," _he was lost in thought and didn't realize someone was calling him. When he finally stopped and saw the boys weren't beside him, panic rose up until he spotted them talking with their dad. He slowly made his way back to the trio.

The boys were anxious to finish their shopping and get home to their last weekend of freedom. "Lee can we go check out that store?" Philip excitedly asked.

"Yeah, but stay only in that store!"

Joe seeing the bags Lee was holding could feel jealously starting to creep in, "You and the boys school shopping? Amanda could have gotten me…" Joe stated.

"It just came up spur of the moment…Amanda realized they needed things…they didn't want their mother taking them…so I volunteered…" Lee uncomfortably stammered through his explanation, actually feeling for Joe. _Boy I don't think I've been this nervous being interrogated by the KGB,_ Lee thought to himself.

Joe reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet. Taking out a fist full of money, he extended it to Lee, "Here I don't want the boys being a burden. I don't want you having to pay for everything."

"No, No, you and Amanda can deal with the money issues. I love it and they're no burden," Lee quickly asserted while not accepting the money. When Joe would not lower his arm Lee continued, "Seriously, Joe, talk to Amanda about the money. I need to catch up with the boys," and as Lee left, Joe King stood watching the man, who he felt was fast replacing him, recede down the corridor.

**Stetson Household**

Amanda and Dotty had spent a relaxing morning reading on the patio. Since her nightmares were becoming a nightly ritual, Amanda had actually taken a nap. The patio is where the guys found the two women when they got home.

"Mom, come and see what we got!" Philip excitedly called as he stuck his head out the kitchen door.

Amanda and Dotty quickly rose from their chairs, curious to see how the guys made out. Walking into the kitchen, the ladies saw a few piles of clothes littering the counters. While Lee watched with a huge smile on his face, each boy in turn showed what they had gotten.

"Lee said we needed some dress pants, dress shirts, and ties for special services at school. He explained private schools have certain dress codes for special times," Jamie said excitedly.

Amanda made her way over to her husband, pecked him on the lips, and whispered, "Looks like Operation School Shopping was a successful mission."

He encircled her with his arms and whispered in her ear, "How about we celebrate later!" and he then returned her kiss.


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

**Mon. Sept. 2, 1987 St. Joseph's Orphanage, East Germany**

Birol and Sister Margit were harvesting produce from the garden to be stored for the coming winter months. He was tired of playing the part of Olaf and was hoping to be able to move on soon. As though Sister Margit could read his mind she spoke up, "Olaf, Father Mathias will come tomorrow. Father Freitag will talk to him about getting you across the border. To be honest I will miss having your company and I know the boys will too. It is nice for them to have someone to look up too."

Birol tried to avoid Margit's eyes, but for some reason he couldn't explain, he was drawn to the ocean blue in them. Afraid that if he looked too long into her eyes, she would be able to see deep into his soul and know the truth, of who he was. He quickly looked away and mumbled, "I will miss you too!"

**Tues. Sept. 3, 1987 St. Joseph's Orphanage**

Around six in the morning a large commotion erupted around the Orphanage as Father Mathias arrived from West Germany. He brought not only food, but news of the outside world. Sister Margit approached Father Freitag, who was talking with Father Mathias, and stood quietly nearby. Father Freitag sensed her presence and knew what she wanted; he too wanted their visitor gone, but for different reasons. Whereas Sister Margit cared for the stranger, who unexpectedly came to their orphanage, he himself was suspicious of the man. Father Freitag wasn't sure he bought Olaf's story, but he knew Sister Margit was young and untainted by the world. He slowly turned from Father Mathias to Sister Margit and spoke, "I have not forgotten Sister! I will speak with the Father about our situation." This seemed to satisfy Sister Margit and she left to leave the two men to their conversation.

Father Mathias spent the day visiting and around three in the afternoon announced it was time to leave. He had agreed to transport Olaf across the border for Father Freitag. After a teary good bye from Sister Margit, Birol was concealed under straw in the wagon and covered with sacks. Father Mathias clicked the horses to start and headed down the lane.

Two hours later Birol could tell they were at the border crossing and laid still. A few minutes later they were across without incident. Birol waited about a half an hour and crept from under the straw and sacks to come up behind the Father. He pulled a knife out of his boot and grabbed the Father by the head, pulled it roughly back, and ran the blade across his throat. Father Mathias slumped in his seat without even knowing what happened. Birol jumped from the wagon as the horse started wildly down the road.

**Labor Day Stetson Household**

Since Amanda had to work, that left Lee in charge of what he called Operation Dotty Moving Day, which caused Dotty to smile over him naming various family events. Lee had commandeered a couple of guys from the Agency to help him move his mother in law, but he knew they were actually helping because of Amanda. Leatherneck, Duffy, and Lee were moving Dotty's furniture while Dotty had the boys helping her move clothes, blankets, and knick-knacks.

Amanda had gotten off of work around noon and had picked up lunch for everyone. Lee notice she was in an elated mood as they sat in Dotty's apartment eating subs and drinking soda's; he reasoned it was probably because of her mother getting her own place. Amanda's plan was to help her mother decorate for the afternoon while Lee and the boys hung out.

Amanda and Dotty worked all afternoon organizing and decorating. Lee found them sitting at the kitchen table drinking ice tea when he went to get them for supper. It had been decided that they would eat supper together each night as a family. "I've grilled some burgers if you ladies are hungry," He told them.

"Now that you mention it I am hungry!" Dotty replied.

The three of them walked to the patio where the boys had the table set and was waiting for the adults to arrive. They had a great meal and a great time talking about the new apartment and the boys' school.

Later that night, as Lee and Amanda sat on the patio enjoying the last remnants of summer, Amanda shared why she was excited, "Birol's prison got back with me. He died of a heart attack last month."

"Did they send his death certificate?"

"No, I never thought to ask for one," She admitted.

"Tomorrow call and get them to fax it over. I want one for our file!"

Amanda's joy waned a little with the possibility that Birol was still alive.

Dotty woke in the middle of the night disoriented with where she was, and with her not accustomed to living alone for the last six years couldn't go back to sleep. After lying awake for an hour, she decided to go over to the house and lie on the couch. She was careful to disengage the alarm lest she set it off and wake the household. She softly padded into the living room and let out a little yelp when she saw a figure standing in front of the back windows staring out into the black night.

Amanda being startled turned toward the sound and gasped, "Mother is that you?" as she squinted into the dark.

"Amanda, what are you doing up?"

"I was going to ask you the same thing!"

"I guess I got a little scared over there by myself. Silly isn't it?"

"Not really. Let me make us some tea," Amanda said as she moved to the kitchen to put water on.

"So why are you up?" Dotty asked her daughter.

"I couldn't sleep," Amanda tried brushing off her mother's concern.

After fixing their tea they went back to the couch and sat down. They sat in companionable silence. Amanda covered a yawn and Dotty suggested, "Why don't you go to bed?"

"I'll just see his face," She said almost so softly that her mother couldn't hear her.

Dotty patted her daughter's hand and then pulled her into a hug. After a while of leaning her head on her mother's shoulder, Amanda drifted off to sleep. Dotty was able to position Amanda's head in her lap, while she propped her feet on the coffee table, leaned her head back, and drifted off to sleep. This is how Lee found mother and daughter later that morning.

**Tues. Sept. 4, 1987 Agency, Q-Bureau **

Amanda was trying to get through again to the prison in East Germany. _Boy is it hard to get information out of these Eastern Bloc countries,_ she thought. Finally the operator was able to patch her through, and she explained to the person on the other end what she needed. They promised they would fax the death certificate to her as soon as possible. She decided she would give them an hour and then head to the bullpen to check the fax machine.

Lee was out checking with his contacts again to see if he could get a lead on where any Karbala cells were located. So far there had been no information; it was almost like they were invisible.

Amanda made her way to the fax machine and met Francine in the hall. "Amanda, you look exhausted, but I guess that is how a newlywed looks," she added with a smirk. Amanda just rolled her eyes in response as she continued her way to the fax. Going through the stack of faxes, she found the sheet she was looking for; picked it up and looked at it, threw it in the trash and brusquely walked out of the room.

When she got back to the Q-Bureau Lee was back from his errands. She went over to his chair and gave him a peck on the lips, "Find out anything?"

"Nope, no one has heard where they are. Could be little cells of them all over the world, but I did confirm that we were not the target of the plane bombing. The group admitted that it was a random act to set fear into the world."

"How can we find leads on where they are?"

He blew out a puff of air, raked his hand through his hair in frustration, "That's a good question."

"Could we bait them somehow?"

Lee looked at his wife and smirked, "I'm not sure they work that way!" After a minute of thinking he asked her, "What have you found out?"

"The prison faxed that they are still looking for Birol's death certificate. Looks like it was missed filed or lost. They said it could take a few days.

A frustrated Lee sighed and ran a hand through his hair again and replied to the news, "I don't know, Amanda, I'm not crazy about how we can't get any information!"

**Wed. Sept 5, 1987 Stetson Household**

Dotty was in the kitchen fixing supper, Philip and Jamie were upstairs doing homework, Lee had to meet a couple of contacts, and Amanda was napping on the couch. Amanda had really wanted to go with Lee, but he had insisted she come home and rest, which Dotty noted did not set well with her daughter. Lee had put his foot down saying a sleep deprived partner was worse than having no partner. Dotty sighed remembering the argument this admission had brought, _I hope this marriage works!_ She thought to herself.

Now she could hear Amanda muttering in the living room so she went to check on her daughter. Amanda was sweating and restlessly calling for Lee in her sleep, "Lee, no don't go!" then later, "No, please don't!" she added louder.

The doorbell rang and Philip called from upstairs, "I'll get it." Dotty was sure Amanda didn't want anyone to see her like this, but before she could stop him, Philip, had opened the door with "Hi Dad, come on in!"

"Hi Philip, is you mother home?"

"Yeah, I think she's in the living room," Father and son started in that direction, but Dotty was working her way towards them to keep them from the living room.

"Joe, it's so good to see you. Why don't we visit on the front porch? It's so pretty out there!" she tried stalling.

"I really need to talk…" but Amanda's piercing scream of,"Nightcrawler!" interrupted him.

"What the…" Joe exclaimed as he ran into the room to see his ex-wife's wide-eyed, disheveled, sweating form sitting up on the couch.

Rushing to her he gathered her into his arms and exclaimed, "Amanda, are you okay!"

Amanda pushed her ex-husband away and croaked out, "What are you doing here?" After shooing Philip up the stairs, Dotty moved onto the couch next to her daughter, and she put a comforting hand on her daughter's arm to calm her trembling.

"I need to talk to you about some finances' of the boys."

Amanda ran a shaky hand over her mused hair and with a tremulous tone replied, "I don't think I'm up to it right now."

Joe with concern written on his face looked from Amanda to Dotty, "What's this all about!"

Amanda rose from the couch, and as she made her way to the kitchen called over her shoulder, "You know I can't tell you anything!"

Once she reached the kitchen she got a tumbler from the cabinet and poured herself a nice helping of Lee's scotch. Raising the glass to her lips she tipped her head back and downed the amber liquid. She gasped for breath as the liquor burned its way through her insides. Shaking her head, she shut her eyes tight while pinching the bridge of her nose. Taking a deep breath, she turned to face her mother and ex-husband, who were watching her. Sighing deeply, she made her way back to the living room and said to her mother, "Can Joe and I talk alone?"

"Of course dear, I'll go finish dinner."

"What's on your mind Joe?"

"I never thought about giving you extra money for the boys' school supplies," Joe rushed forward.

Amanda, who was trying to clear the cobwebs from her mind, was a little confused, "Sorry Joe, I'm not sure what you're talking about."

"I saw Lee shopping with the boys for school clothes. I tried giving him money, but he said to take care of it with you because he didn't know what our arrangement was."

Amanda smiled at the thought of her wise husband, "You pay child support. You don't need to worry about anything more."

"Listen Amanda, Lee, paid for the clothes didn't he?"

"Joe I don't know what you are getting at!"

"Are you reimbursing him from the child support?"

Amanda sighed, for her head was pounding, plus she wasn't in the mood for this discussion, "Look Joe, it really isn't any of your business what Lee does with our money."

"I don't want another man providing for our boys, Amanda!" Joe adamantly said.

Amanda turned tired, frustrated eyes to her ex-husband as she shrugged her shoulders, sighed and replied, "Do what you want Joe, but I'm through talking about it. When you and Carrie get married, you will probably have a family to provide for on top of the child support."

In a whisper Joe remarked, "There isn't going to be a wedding."

Amanda's face softened, "Joe, I'm so sorry, but why?"

"Carrie said she couldn't compete with my job."

"With your job?" Amanda replied a little baffled.

"Yeah, she said she had hoped that when we got engaged she would see more of me, but she thought she now saw less. I told her it was just a busy time with EAO right now. She was adamant that she felt I was married to my job, and she didn't want a life like that. At least she decided before we got married and had kids. Listen I'll get the check in the mail to you!" Joe rose to go and Amanda started to get up too, "No, you stay sitting. I can show myself out!" As Joe was leaving the house he met Lee coming in. Both men said a cordial hello to each other, but that was all.

Lee came into the living room and took in the rumbled form of his wife and sighed. When he bent to give her a kiss, he smelled and tasted scotch on her breath so he replied, "That bad, huh." Amanda looked away embarrassed. Lee got her by the chin, "Why won't you talk about it? I'm here! I want to be here for you!" Amanda saw the pleading look in her husband's eyes and averted her own. In frustration he added, "There's Pfaff Amanda. It could become an order!" She looked up sharply at her husband wondering if he was serious.

After supper the boys were working on their homework at the kitchen table, while Lee was watching the news, and Dotty had retreated to her apartment. Amanda came into the kitchen to hear Philip say in frustration, "It's only the second week of school and we have a huge project assigned already!"

"We are at a private school, Philip. The academics are harder!"

"Great! Just what I needed! Can't I go to a regular school Mom?"

"I'm sure you'll do fine. What is your project in?"

"It's for history class; we are studying the Eastern Bloc countries and our teacher assigned us different countries to research. Remember when I had to do Czechoslovakia; well this is a bigger assignment."

"You're older now, so it is going to be bigger. What country did you get?"

"Russia."

By now Lee had joined the family in the kitchen with a cup of coffee in hand, "Russia's a beautiful country." Sitting down at the table, he asked his stepson, "What information do you have already?"

"The teacher gave me this pamphlet, but it's written in Russian," Philip replied as he handed the pamphlet to his stepfather.

While Lee translated the Russian into English, both Philip and Jamie looked at their stepdad with wide eyes. Amanda couldn't help but smile at her sons. "You can read Russian?" Philip asked in disbelief.

"Huh…oh yeah, I can speak it fluently. Hey listen, I think I might have some things that will help," he said as he left the room. A few minutes later he came back with a box. Setting it on the table, he started sorting through it for anything pertaining to Russia. Both Philip and Jamie started looking through Lee's box, which contained paraphernalia from other countries. Before they could bombard him with questions, Lee said, "We'll look at this stuff another time. Right now let's concentrate on Russia." For the next couple of hours, Lee happily helped Philip with his research.

After Philip and Lee decided to call it quits for the night, Jamie pulled out a list to show his mother and Lee. Our social studies class is having people with different government jobs come and tell us about their careers. Our teacher told us that if we knew of any one that would be willing to come to let her know. Would you come, Lee, and share with us about IFF."

Lee at first looked petrified at the idea of being with a group of seventh graders, but he looked at Amanda, who shrugged and said, "Might not be a bad idea, if you know what I'm getting at!"

Lee replied to his hopeful stepson, "Let me talk to my boss and see what he says."

**Fri. Sept. 7, 1987 Agency, Q-Bureau **

Lee and Amanda where typing reports and filing case files when Lee's phone rang, "Stetson here," he barked into the phone.

_He can still have the worst manners,_ Amanda thought.

"Okay, I'll tell her!" Lee said. As he hung up the phone, he looked at his wife, "there's a fax for you in the bullpen from Birol's prison."

"I could use a break, I'll go get it."

"I'll walk with you," he was rewarded with a soft smile from his wife. They walked hand in hand to the closet elevator and finally into the bullpen. While Amanda got the fax, Lee peeked in to chat with Billy.

"Hey Billy, um…Jamie's social studies class is having people with government careers come in and talk about them. He wanted me to come in to represent IFF. Amanda and I figured…"he stopped when he saw the confused look on his section chief's face. Lee quickly tried to finish, "it was a good opportunity to promote our cover. You know the documentary film cover…" he trailed off when Billy started laughing. "I don't know what's so funny!" Lee snapped.

"You're rambling like your wife," Billy was just able to get the words out between his fits of laughter.

Amanda joined the two men and asked out of curiosity, "What's so funny?"

"Your husband, Amanda!" Billy replied as he wiped tears from his eyes. He continued, "I'll think about it, Scarecrow. It might not be a bad idea. I'll let you know tomorrow."

Although Lee wasn't very amused with his boss, he replied with, "Okay, thanks." Turning to his wife he asked, "What did the fax say?"

"The prison has no record of Birol's death certificate," Amanda replied dejectedly unable to hide her disappointment.

"Did they say what hospital he went to?" Billy asked.

"There's only one hospital near that prison, Billy." Lee replied.

"Get in touch with the hospital and get that copy, Amanda!"

"Yes sir!" she replied and then they left Billy's office.

**Fri. Sept. 7, 1987 East Germany Countryside**

Birol had spent the week hiding in the countryside. He moved by night and slept in the day. He could usually find some poor farmer who would take pity on him and share some of their meager food. Although, it wasn't much he was thankful.

He knew where he was headed. He was going to pay a visit to Baron Von Eiger in Munich. Although, it was probably a three week trip on foot, he was basking in the thought of a meeting. He had never personally met the Baron for the only contact they had with each other was through coded, impersonal letters; exchanged through the Habib brothers. The Baron's thought of revenge on Lee Stetson, for some petty offense, made him more than willing to do Birol's bidding. He laughed and thought, _and now the Baron's had a change of heart and wants out. Don't worry you will be permanently out! _For he only had need of those who fully lived to terrorize others!


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

**Tues. Sept. 11, 1987 Stetson Household 2:00am**

Amanda stood staring out the window, which looked out on the back of their property. Why she was looking out the window she didn't know because it was pitch black out and she couldn't see a thing. Since Friday, when she found out Birol's prison didn't have his death certificate, the nightmares had come with a vengeance. She was still waiting to hear back from the hospital. Finding out anything in the Eastern Bloc countries were near impossible. She was hoping it was news that would end the nightmares.

So that her nightmares wouldn't wake him, she had taken to slipping out of bed once Lee had gone to sleep. She would come and sleep on the couch until one came, and then she would spend the rest of the night looking out the window. She was sure Lee didn't know her routine because she always made sure she was in the shower before he woke up. She reasoned that if he did know about the nightmares then she would be sitting in Dr. Pfaff's office because she knew that his threat from earlier was real.

Tonight she decided to relive the ordeal and maybe that would help her to overcome her nightmares. Birol had been a terrorist and the head of Karbala. Lee had gone undercover as a pilot and she had been under cover as a TV reporter for 'CSN'. At the airport they were able to apprehend one of Birol's soldiers, Phyllis. She had noticed a pickup truck headed right for Lee so she had naturally called out his name, which had saved his life, but blown both of their covers. Birol was able to rescue Phyllis during the chaos.

Unbeknownst to the ATAC Team, Birol had been surveilling them and had discovered her blunder which gave him leverage to use against Lee.

Birol had set up a TV interview with 'CSN' and while the reporters were in the warehouse she had been safely stationed in the van. Lee and the other agents busted in, but they had been set up and Birol had kidnapped her with the van.

For days she had been sleep deprived and given hallucinogens. Over and over Birol had showed her pictures wanting to know if she recognized any of the faces. The only one she recognized was Lee's. He also kept moving her from house to house.

_If I hadn't blown our covers_, she thought; but a second later she re-thought, _but then Lee wouldn't be alive. I would definitely do it again. _Amanda smiled thinking of Lee upstairs in their bed sound asleep.

During captivity she had hallucinated that Lee was with her. In the first hallucination, he had told her that he was coming, but it was going take a while; he reminded her that he loved her very much. When she came out of the hallucination Birol slapped her and asked her again if she recognized the people in the pictures.

The second time she imagined Lee, he was in his tux with roses and wine. He told her it was a special night and he had something important to ask her. She begged him not to go and when she came out of it there was Birol again, but this time he was stroking her face. Amanda shuddered at the memory. He asked her if she recognized nightcrawler and then in the fogginess of her brain she knew she recognized the blond. He had triumphantly realized that one of his Lieutenants was the mole, nightcrawler. He had then smeared some high potent mixture on her face and she was knocked out.

She remembered waking up in another room lying naked on the cot. She had a pounding headache and her whole body ached. She spotted her clothes on the desk in the room. She barely had enough strength to stumble to the desk, but she retrieved her clothes and haphazardly tried to put them on. She was determined that when Lee arrived she would be clothed, but she was so tired and had no strength so she sank back onto the cot and drifted off to sleep.

She came to later clutching her clothes to her. She quickly put the remaining clothes on and laid down closing her eyes willing for herself to be home safe in her bed. But, closing her eyes caused memory flashes of her betrayal of nightcrawler. How did she recognize her? Lee had never told her who nightcrawler was or even showed her a picture.

She now closed her eyes and grimaced at the memory. They were in the Q-Bureau reviewing the airport incident and Lee had turned a picture away from her, but not soon enough for she had gotten a glance. She let out a sigh. Maybe reliving this wasn't such a good idea after all because now she just had new memories to work through and a secret to keep from Lee. She knew Lee, and if he suspected Birol of violating her and knew that he was still alive then he would go after Birol himself.

She remembered jumping from the cot when the door to her cell opened and Birol pushed Lee through. She had thought it was another hallucination, but his kisses felt so real. He had told her that he was really there, and when she felt his face between her hands she couldn't believe he was real, but she remembered him saying, 'Amanda it is really me!' She remembered responding with 'It's really you! Well hello!" and she had clung to him as if he were her life line.

She remembered Birol coming back to tell Lee that he was giving him an hour to make a list of all his sources and assets or he would sell her to the Libyans. She had begged him not to make the list that he had to draw the line somewhere.

She smiled at the next memory, the best memory of the whole ordeal. Lee came around from behind the desk and knelt in front of her while she sat on the cot. He took her hands into his and told her, "We may not make it out this time."

"I know it stinks, doesn't?" she remembered saying as she looked down at her lap.

He had taken her by the chin and made her look him in the eyes as he empathetically said, "Amanda King, you are the best, bravest, smartest, most beautiful woman I have ever known!"

She remembered saying, "I love you!"

"Will you marry me?"

She was stunned and wasn't sure if she had heard correctly so she repeated his question back in a whisper, "Will I marry you?" and when she saw the love and truth in his eyes she said, "Oh yes, I'll marry you!" Lee had given her his biggest and brightest smile and she couldn't help saying in spite of their situation, "We are the luckiest two people on the face of the earth!" The two of them sat on the cot in each other arms.

Before she knew it, Birol was back with Magda and nightcrawler. She was confused as to why Magda was there and how she fit into the puzzle; but as Birol aimed his gun at them, Magda pulled out a zap gas cartage and pulled the plug. As the zap gas filled the room, Lee took the opportunity to overpower Birol and disarm him. In came Billy and Usef, the Arab operative loan out, to collect Birol while she and Lee succumbed to the gas.

She remembered coming to in Lee's arms with the whole ordeal over. She was then taken back to the Agency's infirmary, where she was given IVs for dehydration and nourishment. She had been in the infirmary for twenty-four hours before Dr. Kelford released her for debriefing. She asked for Lee not to be present for her debriefing, which he didn't like. She knew he would get the file and read it anyways, but she just couldn't have him there hearing it firsthand. She knew now that she hadn't told in the debriefing about what Birol had done to her physically, _I guess I was already starting to repress the memory or maybe I had been embarrassed about what he did,_ she now thought.

After she was released from being debriefed, Lee had taken her to his apartment for a couple of days to help her deal with the initial nightmares and to get re-acclimated to real life. One afternoon they had walked to a nearby park and had a picnic lunch. She had felt so strange and out of place that she wasn't sure how she would manage being alone with her family. Lee explained that once she got home in her familiar surroundings and with the support of those she loved it would be okay. The day came when she had to finally go home; Lee had followed her and after she had sat in the Wagoneer for about five minutes, he had come and opened the driver's door. He had leant in and kissed her softly, looked her in the eyes and told her that she could do this. He had then helped her out of the vehicle, and immediately pulled her into his embrace, where both of them had clung to each other. He had asked if she wanted him to go in with her and she remembered smiling and replied that that would just raise more questions. He had given her a lingering kiss and told her that he would call later but if she needed anything to make sure and call him.

Once she had went into the house, the boys and her mother were so excited to see her that they all started talking at once. Her mother declared she was making her favorite meal for supper. She got caught up with the boys about what was going on at school and with their friends.

It was after the boys had gone to bed, that fatigue started to settle in and so did the fear. Her mother knew something was wrong so she made an opening by saying, "Mr. Stetson came by the house the other day wondering if I had heard from you. I thought you went on shoots together? Amanda you look white as a ghost, what happened?" Her mother was now sitting next to her with her hand on her arm.

She remembered knowing that she wasn't going to be able to deal with flashbacks without her mother's love and understanding. In a small voice she remembered saying, "I was kidnapped."

"You were what! How!" she remembered her mother saying in an incredulous voice. "Did Mr. Stetson know?"

She remembered telling her mother, "I was on location and some people didn't like what was going on so they kidnapped me. Lee was told not to tell you about the kidnapping, but he wanted to make sure you all were okay. Mother, I was so scared and I was afraid I'd never see you or the boys again!"

She remembered that by now she was crying, and her mother had pulled her into her arms and soothingly asked in a voice filled with concern, love, and acceptance, "Did they hurt you?"

"I'm fine now, Mother, now that I'm home!"

Lee had been right, being home did help her to heal and eventually the nightmares faded, but like Lee she now slept with a soft light on.

By the time she had taken a walk down memory lane, the first rays of dawn were breaking on the horizon. _No need to go to bed now, I think I'll make the boys breakfast,_ she thought.

Lee, Philip, and Jamie woke to the smell of bacon frying and coffee brewing. The three guys stumbled down the stairs wiping sleep from their eyes. Amanda smiled at the sight of her three boys. Lee surprised her by saying, "Boy the bacon smells good!"

"You want some?"

"I do believe I'll eat some this morning with a couple pieces of toast," he replied as he flashed a smile and gave her a wink.

"Do you want eggs too?"

"No thank you, bacon and toast will be great."

While the three guys ate, Amanda slipped up stairs to the shower. It was while she was dressing that Lee came from behind and encircled her with his arms as he whispered in her ear, "I've missed you in bed the last few nights! I wish you wouldn't leave. I can help!"

Detangling herself from his arms she mumbled, "Only one of us needs to be losing sleep," while she concentrated on not snagging her hose.

He sighed and trying not to sound frustrated said, "Neither one of us needs to be losing sleep, Amanda!"

"I really don't feel like talking about it, Lee!"

"You never do!" he said through clenched teeth as he left their bedroom slamming the door behind him.

**Wed. Sept. 12, 1987 Agency, Q-Bureau **

"Are you sure Augie? At the Southwest Waterfront on the Potomac. Boat's name is Little Mermaid. Okay thanks!" Lee repeated back as he scribbled down the information on a pad of paper. Tearing the page from his pad and grabbing the camera from the shelf behind him, Lee said to Amanda, "Come on! We might have a lead on Karbala!"

This snapped Amanda's foggy brain to attention, and because she had been dozing at her desk asked with curiosity in her voice, "Really! Where?" _I really need to get some sleep! _She thought. She quickly rose from her desk and followed Lee out to the corvette.

For the last few hours, they had had the Little Mermaid under surveillance with nothing really happening at the marina. Amanda had the camera hanging from her neck ready to snap pictures if any action broke out. After a couple of hours, their conversation had dwindled and the couple was left to their own thoughts. While they were enjoying the sun's direct rays, Amanda started to relax. Before she knew what was happening, she had the feeling that she was falling, but then she came to an abrupt halt and was being pulled back up. The camera around her neck flew up and around her back making contact with an object which caused a loud thud. The next thing she heard was someone swearing. She slowly turned around as she saw her husband holding his face, "Oh my gosh, Lee, what happened?"

Blood was flowing from under his hand and he bit out, "Come on this is a bust! I need to get cleaned up."

As he reached to grab her by the arm she winced in pain. He sighed, "It's probably dislocated. Let's get to the infirmary!"

They made their way back to the Agency, the worse for the wear, but Lee had insisted that he was in better shape to drive. Amanda wasn't so sure since his eye was starting to swell shut.

The infirmary doctor patched them up and in short order they were back in the Q-Bureau. "Lee what did happen?" Amanda asked to an irate Lee, who was opening and slamming drawers shut on his desk.

Lee turned his battered face; which consisted of a swollen and black eye, a split and swollen lip, and a bruised cheek bone to his wife, who had her arm in a sling because it was dislocated. He sighed, ran a hand through his hair, and angrily replied, "You fell asleep and started to fall over the railing. I grabbed you by the arm to keep you from going over and the camera flew back and hit me in the face."

Amanda looked down at her feet and then back to her husband, "I'm so sorry!"

Lee got up from his desk, came and stood in front of his wife, and said, "I'm ordering you to make an appointment with Dr. Pfaff!"

"You can't do that!" Amanda replied in an equally angry voice.

"I can. I'm the senior agent. Head of the Q-Bureau. You can make this easy and go on your own, Amanda, or I can fill out the paper work and submit them to Billy for you to go. Either way you're going! You decide!" and he left the Q-Bureau slamming the door behind him.

Amanda winced at the noise she heard behind her. "Oh sometimes that man!" she muttered under her breath.

It didn't take long for Lee to come back to the Q-Bureau to collect his things, "Billy said to take the rest of the day off. Come on let's go home!"

Dotty and Curt was in her apartment making out their flight plans when they heard a car drive up. Dotty looked out the window to see a battered Lee helping Amanda, who had her arm in a sling, out of the car. "It's Amanda and Lee. They look hurt. I want to check on them before we leave."

After they had finished their planning, the couple made their way out of the apartment and walked over to the main house as Dotty affectionately referred to the Stetson household. They came in the front door without knocking and proceeded to the living room to find Lee lying on the couch.

Amanda was in the kitchen fixing a bag of ice wrapped in a towel. She walked over to the back of the couch and placed the offering on her husband's chest, "Here, you better put this on your face!"

Lee reached up and grabbed his wife's hand as he opened his good eye," Amanda…"

Amanda pulled her hand free, "I'm going upstairs to lie down!" As she turned to leave, she saw her mother and Curt for the first time and exclaimed, "Mother! When did you come in?"

Lee shot up on the couch in time to hear Dotty's reply, "Just a moment ago dear. What happened?"

"It's nothing Mother!" and Amanda flew up the stairs and slammed the bedroom door shut.

Dotty turned concerned eyes to Lee, "What did I say? What happened? Did something go wrong?"

Lee pulled himself up from the couch and gently explained to his mother in law, "We were on a shoot, but we had to wait for the right time to take pictures. Amanda fell asleep and started to fall." Lee, trying to down play the mishap, added with a chuckle, "I grabbed Amanda by the arm dislocating it and the camera dislocated my face. We'll be okay! The only thing is I'm supposed to have a presentation in Jamie's class next Monday!"

Dotty chuckled in relief that it wasn't anything more serious and added to his cover, "I guess you'll have to explain the documentary film business has a dangerous side to it." She then continued, "I came over to tell you that we are going flying for the afternoon."

"Okay have fun!" Lee called to them as they walked back to the front door.

The rest of the week went by without any further incident. Lee had gone back to the marina a few times, but nothing ever came from the tip he had received. Amanda did as Lee had ordered and made an appointment with Dr. Pfaff; but he decided she was experiencing post traumatic repression and that was beyond his capabilities, so he set up an appointment with Dr. Quidd. She had requested her appointment be scheduled at the same time Lee would be at Jamie's school because she didn't want Lee to know she had to see Dr. Quidd.

On Friday afternoon, Amanda received dreadful news. The hospital in East Germany had finally faxed their information. They had record of Birol being brought to the ER in cardio arrest, of being confirmed dead, and of calling the prison; but no written record of receiving the body in the morgue, therefore no record of an autopsy or of releasing the body back to the prison for burial. _Does that mean he's somewhere out there loose_? Amanda questioned herself.

It was late evening when she typed up the report and placed it on Billy's desk because he had already left for the weekend. She made her way back to the Q-Bureau to gather her things and head home for some alone time, since her mother was going to be out with Curt and Lee had taken the boys to the ballgame.


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**

**Mon. Sept. 17, 1987 Agency, Dr. Quid's Office **

The President found out about the presentation Lee was giving to Jamie's class and actually liked the idea of promoting the Agency's IFF cover. He ordered films to be made specifically for schools with names of agents listed as producers and directors to help validate their covers. So while Lee was at the Georgetown Preparatory School making a presentation for Jamie's class; Amanda was sitting in Dr. Quidd's office. She thought back on her role of helping Lee with his presentation. Every time he had practiced for her he had sound like he was preforming an Agency briefing. She chuckled at the thought of him making a presentation to a group of seventh graders, like they were a room full of agents he was briefing on an operation. She envisioned Lee being more comfortable in a room full of KGB agents than a bunch of middle schoolers.

Dr. Quidd sat in the chair opposite of Amanda and noticed the looks passing across her face; looks of pride and love, to looks of amusement. To break the ice he gently asked, "What are you thinking about?"

"Oh, I was just thinking about Lee." the love was evident in her tone.

"Anything specific? You requested this time, is he the reason why?"

Amanda slowly looked up into the doctors eyes and softly explained, "He ordered me to see Dr. Pfaff, and if he knew that Dr. Pfaff sent me to you he would want to know why."

"So you are hoping to keep this meeting clandestine," Dr. Quid prompted.

"Yeah! Everyone sees Dr. Pfaff from time to time, but an appointment with you means that the problem is deeper." she admitted.

Noticing Amanda was getting a little edgy, Dr. Quidd tried to help her relax by broaching the subject of her looks at the beginning of their session. "What was making you smile and think of Lee?" he tried coaxing her.

Amanda laughed, "Lee's making a presentation at my son's school, and I was envisioning him in a room full of seventh graders. Scarecrow, can face down a swarm of KGB agents without fear, but Lee was very nervous when he left the office." Dr. Quidd couldn't help but laugh with her.

Dr. Quidd looked at Amanda's file and thoughtfully perused it. Weighing his questions carefully he stated, "Dr. Pfaff has noted that you have what we call Post Traumatic Repression from your Birol kidnapping. Would you agree with that?"

"I'm not sure what the fancy wording is, but I've remembered some things from the kidnapping. At first, I thought it was part of the hallucinations, but the last memory is so poignant for it not to be true…" she trailed off in a small voice.

"I have purposely not read what you have shared with Dr. Pfaff. I would like you to tell me your story!" Dr. Quidd instructed as he leaned back in his chair ready to listen with no note taking devices.

Amanda started at the airport when she yelled out Lee's name…to her time with Birol…to her betrayal of nightcrawler…to Lee arriving and his proposal…to him taking her to his apartment…to telling her mother she was kidnapped.

Dr. Quidd sighed, "I can see why you feel responsible in a lot of ways! You really need to share with Lee what happened with Birol!" Dr. Quidd stopped when he saw Amanda's wide eyes and he continued softly, "Are you afraid of what Lee will think of you, Amanda?"

"Oh no! Lee would never think less of me! He would blame himself more than he already does! I have reason to believe Birol has escaped prison, and if Lee knew this then he would set out to hunt him down for revenge!"

Dr. Quidd rubbed a hand across his face. He remembered, Scarecrow, in Billy's office the day Amanda had been kidnapped by Birol. Lee definitely had blamed himself for her kidnapping, but she needed to talk with her husband. Dr. Quidd thoughtfully instructed, "I want to see you next Monday, but by then you need to have told this to Lee. He is your husband and has a right to know. He more than anyone, can help you get through the memories and nightmares!"

Amanda sighed wondering, _why her life had to be so complicated. _She rose from the chair and headed to the door.

As Amanda walked out of Dr. Quidd's office, Lee spotted his wife as he was coming down the hall and he called out, "Hey Amanda! Hold up!"

Amanda grimaced when she heard the familiar voice, _Real dumb, Amanda! You should have scanned the hall before you walked out!_ Steeling herself, she turned toward her husband with a smile plastered to her face. "How did your presentation go?" She sincerely asked for she was curios, but she also hoped to avert his prying questions.

He flashed a huge grin, "It went really well! They're a bunch of great kids! I even showed a sample school documentary which will be in a series the Agency is producing."

"Good! Glad it went well! Well I need to see Billy," she quickly replied and turn to leave, but she found that she couldn't move because Lee had a hold of her good arm. She slowly looked into her husband's eyes and felt that he could see all the way to her soul. She lowered them again and whispered, "I really need to see Billy."

He raised her chin so that he could look into her eyes again and lovingly asked, "Why were you in Quidd's office?"

She tried brushing his question off by mumbling something about Dr. Pfaff wanting Dr. Quidd's advice on a matter.

Lee not buying her flimsy excuse, let it go for now because this was not the place to demand answers. He let her go and asked, "Do I need to see Billy too?"

"No, I just need to ask about a report I submitted Friday night." She ventured a soft smile to try and calm her husband.

"Okay, see you in the Q-Bureau," Lee replied and gave his wife a quick kiss on the cheek. While he watched her recede down the hall, he decided that since the boys would be with their father this weekend he needed to plan a romantic dinner for two.

**Billy's Office**

After knocking on her section chief's door, Amanda heard a "come in."

she pushed open the door and walked in as Billy look up at her. "Oh good, I'm glad you stopped by! I saw your report this afternoon; very troubling news indeed. I sent the file up to Dr. Symth for review and direction in how we proceed. Now we continue the waiting game!"

"Okay, thank you sir." Amanda left Billy's office and headed back to the Q-Bureau. She walked at a slow pace not wanting to face her husband anytime soon!

**Tues. Sept. 18, 1987 Stetson Household 3:00am **

Lee, Philip, and Jamie were woken by a soul wrenching, ear piercing, and terrorizing scream that resonated from the living room. The three of them about collided as they ran out into the hall. Lee beat the two boys down the steps to see Amanda cowering in a corner with her eyes wide open, but not awake screaming over and over, "No! Get off of me!"

Rushing to his wife, Lee took her by the shoulders and while he shook her awake soothingly called, "Amanda honey! It's a dream, I'm here! I won't let anything happen!"

Amanda finally awake tried focusing her terrified eyes on her husband. Realizing that it was Lee in front of her, she clung to him as she shook violently. She said over and over, "Don't let him hurt me! Please don't let him hurt me!"

Lee gathered his wife into his arms, took her to the couch, and he said with conviction, "I'm not going to let him hurt you! I promise I'm not going to let him hurt you again! If it's the last thing I do, Birol will pay for hurting you!"

Philip and Jamie stood watching with questioning eyes. Lee finally remembering the boys had followed him down turned to address them, "you two go on back to bed. I'll take care of your mother."

Philip and Jamie didn't want to leave. What they really wanted was some answers, but they obediently turned, slowly climbed the stairs, and got back in bed while listening to the muted sound of their mother's sobs.

**Wed. Sept. 19, 1987 Agency, Dr. Symth's Office **

"Well, kiddies you are probably wondering why I called this little soirée together."

Billy, Lee, and Amanda stood ram rod straight and tall in front of Dr. Symth's desk. "It had crossed our minds…" Billy trailed off while addressing his superior.

"At ease everyone and have a seat," Austin Symth instructed as he himself took a seat behind his massive desk while taking a puff from his cigarette. The trio followed suit and took the three chairs located in front of the director's desk.

Dr. Symth picked up a file and silently leafed through it while the other three nervously sat trying to anticipate where this meeting was going. Finally, looking up Dr. Symth smiled and addressed Amanda, "Very good research here King; very thorough and deep digging!"

"Thank you, sir!" Amanda was surprised to receive praise from the Director of the Agency.

"As you all know the hospital in East Germany does not have official record of Addi Birol's death, no official documentation of the morgue receiving his body, therefore no autopsy."

"No. I didn't know this information!" Lee quickly interjected.

"Your wife submitted this information in a report that ended up on my desk," Dr. Symth replied with a smile.

Lee turned questioning eyes to his wife, sighed, and thought, _this explains the nightmare the other night!_

"Since Karbala has taken responsibility for the plane bombing, and they are now claiming the bombings at the Smithsonian and the Glockenspiel; the President has decided we have need of tracking down Birol," Dr. Symth said through a cloud of smoke which encircled him.

Amanda sat up straighter and moved more on the edge of her seat, "What do you have in mind, Sir?"

"I'm sending Scarecrow, at the President's order, to East Germany to get a lead on Birol's where about."

"Me?! Lee?! Both Lee and Amanda questioned together while they turned to face each other.

"Scarecrow you know the way Birol works better than anybody. You're the logical choice."

"When do we leave sir?"

"No way are you going, Amanda!" Lee adamantly replied.

"I'm your partner, Lee, who will watch your back, and besides we work best as a team," she logically explained.

"You. Are. Not. Going. Final!"

"It's going to be hard enough for Lee to move around East Germany inconspicuously. It will be near impossible with both of you. Besides, you don't know German," Billy rationally explained.

Amanda turned toward Billy to make her plea, "But, sir you don't…"

Dr. Symth cut Amanda off with, "Sorry King. Scarecrow goes solo! President's orders."

"I guess I'm not needed her anymore!" She bit out as she stormed from the room. The three men spent the next hour working on plans and details in Dr. Symthe's office. At the end of the planning session, the director ended with, "I'll send a car to pick you up from home at fifteen hundred hours. You will fly in by military transport. Once you arrive at McGraw Kaserne it will be contact zero except for your check in every three days. Any questions?"

Lee sighed, "No sir, I understand my orders!"

As Billy and Lee left the director's office, he stopped Lee and said, "Take Amanda home with you when you pack!"

"Billy, you know how Amanda attracts trouble…do you think you could keep her on a short leash?"

Billy laughed, "The files in the Q-Bureau's vault need to be purged and the declassified ones sent to State. That should keep her busy for a while."

Lee smiled for the first time in the last couple of hours, slapped his section chief and friend on the shoulder, and replied, "Thanks Billy, I appreciate it!"

**Stetson Household **

Curt was becoming a regular fixture at Dotty's place. With her enthusiasm and love of life, she was a joy to be with. He hoped this would be a permanent relationship. He knew she had dated another man since he had first met her, but he knew there wasn't anyone except him now. He hadn't felt this way about another woman since his Ethel died five years ago. Dotty and he had talked about the grief of losing a spouse. She said it got easier with time, but you always missed them. She should know; her Carl had passed away nine years earlier.

Dotty's grandsons filled a void for him as his only granddaughter, Hannah, lived in Arizona. His only child, Jason, kept trying to get him to move, but he had been born and raised in Virginia and it was hard to uproot at his age.

Amanda was a sweet woman and happily included him into the family. Her job seemed to keep her busy and at odd hours, but she seemed to enjoy the film business. She was a great mother, who was actively involved in her boys' lives. She was a wonderful daughter and he knew that she and Dotty had a close relationship.

Now, Lee seemed like an enigma. He treated Dotty, Amanda, the boys, and even himself well; but there was something about the man that he couldn't put his finger on. He always seemed to be surveying his surroundings even when he was in a casual setting. He seemed to be on alert even when he was sleeping. When he expressed his musings to Dotty, she had ensured him that Lee was an exceptional man, who made Amanda happier than she had seen her daughter in years. He thought Dotty knew more than she let on, but she never said much.

On this warm day in the middle of September, Curt found himself helping Dotty with making new flower gardens. They were working in the back yard of the main house which was in full sun. He had been running through his musings and not paying attention to Dotty's ramblings. He finally noticed it was quiet and looked up to see Dotty watching him so he asked out of curiosity, "Did you say something, Sweets?"

She laughed and replied, "I do believe you are miles away. I'm getting thirsty and hungry. How about we see what Amanda has in the fridge?"

"Okay, but they won't mind?"

"Oh no! They'd have me eating with them all the time, but they need sometime alone as a family. It's a lot for the boys to adjust too with having another male in the house and it's also an adjustment for Lee having a ready-made family." Dotty explained as they walked through the patio doors into the kitchen.

While they fixed sandwiches and poured ice tea they heard the front door open and slam close. Dotty and Curt looked at each other in confusion. They heard the front door open again and close loudly. They heard Lee call out in anger, "Amaaaaanda! Aren't you going to say something? You haven't said one word the whole way home!"

Dotty sighed, put her hand to her head, and muttered, "Not again!"

This admission of Dotty's concerned Curt about the couple's marriage.

It was when Dotty heard Amanda snap back that she pushed her plate away from her.

Wheeling around to face her husband, Amanda returned in an equally angry voice, "I don't know what I'm supposed to say, Lee. Am I supposed to say I'm glad you volunteered for a suicide mission?"

"I didn't volunteer Amanda, and you know that!" he snapped in frustration.

"I didn't hear you fighting not to go!"

"What's the use? I've been with the Agency fifteen years, Amanda, and you don't say no to the President!"

"Then there is no reason to beg you not to go," she said in a softer voice.

"I have to go Amanda! If I can stop your nightmares…" he trailed off himself getting a softer tone.

"How is you traipsing halfway across the globe going to stop my nightmares?" Her voice started to raise an octave.

Lee crossed the room to his wife, took her forearms in his hands, and he deliberately said, "because this time when I find Birol…" he stopped, swallowed, and then started again with more conviction, "When I find Birol, I don't plan on letting him live like I did last time." He then snorted in disgust and continued, "Believe me, Amanda, if I had known then what he had done to you…"

"You talked to Dr. Quidd!" she said in disbelief.

"No. I didn't need to do that. If you have forgotten, I'm your husband. I've heard your nightmares!" While Lee was saying this, Amanda dipped her head.

He raised her chin so she could look him in the eyes and she said in a soft voice, "Tell me you're not going as part of some personal vendetta."

As a mischievous grin spread across his face, his reply was, "I have two hours before I have to leave. Do you want to spend the time arguing or do you want to come help me pack?"

She couldn't help giving him a soft smile and then chuckled, "You don't need help packing. You never take much on missions like these!"

He said while raising his eyebrows, "Then that'll leave us more time for other things." He added, with a twinkle in his eyes, as he raced up the steps laughing, "Come on I'll race you upstairs."

Amanda took off after her husband calling, "No fair, you got a head start!"

"No admit it, Amanda, you are a sore looser!" He replied as he closed the door to their room.

Dotty let out a sigh of relief as if the storm was over.

Lee sat down on the bed next to his wife and caressed her cheek. Bending he gave her a kiss on the lips and said with regret, "My ride should be here soon!"

Amanda sighed and softly said, "I know…I wish…" she was cut off by the doorbell.

While Curt watched from the living room, Dotty opened the front door and was greeted by a man showing her a Federal ID, "I'm Federal Agent Jack Duffy. I'm here for Lee Stetson."

"How do I know that this ID is legit and you are who you say you are?" Dotty was starting to get leery of people and a little paranoid of Amanda and Lee's safety.

At that moment, Lee and Amanda came down the stairs, and Lee answered his mother in law as he came and put his arm around her, "He's legit, Dotty, thanks for being concerned." Looking at Duffy, Lee replied, "I'll be with you in a moment, Duffy!"

He walked Dotty back further into the foyer and gave her a hug, "I'm going to miss you!"

"Lee?" Dotty saying his name was full of love, confusion, and question.

"Shhh…"he laid a finger to her lips and continued, "Amanda will explain!"

Turning to Amanda, he pulled her into his embrace. He drank in her face memorizing every feature for future reference. He cupped her face with both hands and whispered, "Amanda," as he kissed her with all his love and longing. She returned his kiss with her own desires.

"Scarecrow!" Duffy called out. Lee and Amanda ignored the signal. After a couple of more minutes, Duffy called again, "Scarecrow! We have to go, now! Dr. Symth is not going to be happy if you miss your flight!"

Lee broke the kiss first and turned on Duffy and bit out, "I don't care what Symth likes or doesn't like. I'll take the blame if I miss my flight!" He turned back to his wife and kissed her forehead. He lifted her chin and said, "Tell the boys everything, Amanda!"

She swallowed, "Everything?" she questioned in a cracked voice.

"Everything! They deserve to know the truth. I have to go. I love you!" and he brushed a soft kiss across her lips.

"I love you too! Be careful!" She said while trying to hold back her tears.

He winked at her, flashed her one of his smiles, and replied "Always!" he then turned and walked to the front door. As Duffy opened the door and walked through, Lee paused in the doorway and turned to get one last look at his wife. He swallowed hard, while working the muscle in his jaw, but before he decided to disobey orders he quickly walked through the opening and shut the door behind him.

"Amanda?" Dotty started, but Amanda cut her mother off.

"I'm going to lie down. We'll have a family meeting when the boys get home!" She then went to her room and shut the door.

Curt came to Dotty and gave her a supportive hug, "I wasn't an Army Intelligence Officer for nothing…" he let the statement stand alone.

"Why don't you stay for the meeting," Dotty suggested.

Amanda was waiting at the door when Philip and Jamie arrived home from school.

"Hey mom, is everything okay?" Philip questioned.

Jamie studied his mother's face, which showed that something was definitely wrong; he glanced into the living room and when he saw his grandmother and Curt, fear settled in the pit of his stomach. He asked softly, "Where's Lee?"

"How about we talk about it in the living room," Amanda suggested as she ushered her sons into the room and motioned for them to have a seat. Amanda walked to the back window, looked out, and stated, "Where to begin?"

"Grandma always says the beginning is a good place to start." Jamie lovingly prompted.

Amanda turned, looked at her youngest son, and thought not for the first time, "How much does he know!"

She took a deep breath, clasped her hands together, and started, "the beginning." She smiled softly at the memory and continued, "It was a chilly, rain threatening Monday morning in early October of 1983." Amanda noticed she had a captive audience, so she plunged on, "Dean, you boys remember him?"

"Yeah, I remember putting sugar in his gas tank!" Philip said with a mischievous smile.

"Yeah, well Dean didn't want to take the chance of his car getting wet so he asked me to take him to the train station. After seeing him off, I was walking back to my car when this man in a waiter's suit approached from the opposite direction. He grabbed me by the shoulders and turning me around stated, 'Just walk with me…' but I replied, 'I most certainly will not!' I tried to pull away, but he grabbed me again and earnestly said, 'Please I need help, Please!' I said, 'No!' but he pleaded again, 'Please it's a matter of life and death!' I could see the pleading in his eyes and I closed mine. I took a fortifying breath and asked, 'What is it you want me to do?' It was then that he thrust this package into my hands and said, 'Get on the train, give this to the man in the red hat, get off at the next stop and forget this ever happened.' I stood there a moment trying to decide if this was real, I even expressed that thought out loud. He then pushed me toward the train and said, "Go get on!" and he took off running. I climbed the steps, turned in the door, and peered around in time to see these two men tackling the waiter. They started beating the waiter up so I quickly pulled back into the train and knew that this was very real. I was standing at the front of the train car, when I looked up and saw twenty-five men in red hats!"

This caused Dotty to laugh, "Twenty-five men in red hats! What did you do?"

"I brought the package home."

"Did you find out whom to give it too?" Philip asked.

"When the man found out I didn't give the package to who I was supposed to, he tracked me down and wanted his package back. He asked me to meet him, but I was afraid that he was part of the mob so I left the package here. Boy was he angry when I didn't bring the package with me, so he came back with me to get it, but it had been mailed to…" Amanda trailed off when she heard her mother gasp.

"To your Aunt Minnie in Maine!' Dotty said in disbelief.

"Yes, but Philip had opened the package and found the music box with a slip of paper that had words on it." Amanda had turned and smiled at her son.

"Oh my gosh!" is all that Philip could say.

"Well, I couldn't get those words out of my head and it finally hit me that they sounded like recipes. I looked through the cookbooks, but the only place I could find these specific recipes where from the Colonial Cookery show." Amanda glanced at her mother, who sat with her eyes wide open and Curt himself had an amused look on his face.

"When we watched the episode you had taped Mother, Mrs. Welch was making Pilgrims Peach Puff which was one of the words you found Philip. I called the man, but he wasn't in his office so I decided to go down to the TV station to look at the air dates of the other two recipes. Low and behold they aired on the exact dates of two other agents' deaths, which the man had told me about. I tried the man back again and he still wasn't in the office so I decided to pay a visit to the Colonial Cookery. After pulling up and sneaking my way into the basement, I found him being held captive. I didn't know how to get him out so I just hid in the shadows. I waited and they took him outside to a waiting helicopter. I figured it was now or never so I came up behind the bad guy, held my fingers out like a gun and yelled, 'Freeze!' It was all the distraction that was needed because the agent was able to kick the bad guy unconscious. I tried untying him, but couldn't so he told me to get in the helicopter and fly. Since, I had put sugar in Mrs. Welch's gas tank," at this point she paused and looked at Philip and he smiled back proudly. She then quickly finished, "Her car wouldn't start so she took my car. We were finally able to make them crash and the authorities picked them up"

"So that is what happened to the cooking show," Dotty chuckled shaking her head.

"It was Lee, wasn't it Mom! You helped save Lee's life!" and excited Jamie said.

Amanda smiled, "Yes, sweetheart, it was Lee."

"I knew it! I knew it! I knew Lee wasn't a film director!" Jamie exclaimed.

For the next hour Amanda was bombarded with questions from her family, but mostly the boys. She told them what she could. She had to admit that they had been very observant, especially Jamie.

They asked about their father's return and the incident in the gym. They asked about the play she had been an understudy for and they also asked about her running when Federal Agents stormed their house looking for them.

She decided to have all the truth out in the open so she told of being kidnapped and Lee proposing. She told about them deciding on a mystery marriage for their family's protection and that they had actually eloped back in February.

"Lee's been our stepdad for that long," Philip quietly said.

"I'm sorry sweetheart. Lee and I did what we felt was best. We loved each other so much and didn't want to wait, but you guys were just getting to know him. We thought having a public wedding would be best so there weren't any hurt feelings. Lee's wanted to tell you fellas everything for a while and before he left he asked me to tell you guys because he felt you deserved to know the truth.

"I'm not mad Mom, honest. Just thinking that's all!"

"Now listen, it is very important that you don't tell anybody about what I shared with you!"

"Trust me fellas, I learned firsthand how dangerous this business is!" Dotty interjected with a shudder. Even though he didn't know for sure what she was referring too, Curt reached over and lovingly touched her hand.

"We won't!" both boys quickly said.

"Okay, well how about pizza for supper?"

"Yeah!" they both said, but then Jamie sobered and ventured to ask, "Mom, you've never told us where Lee is!"

Amanda let out a sigh, "He had to go to Europe on a mission. He doesn't know when he'll be back, but it's very dangerous!"

Jamie wasn't sure he was hungry for pizza; actually he wasn't sure he was really hungry at all now. His stepdad, who he had come to love as his own dad, was on a dangerous mission.


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21**

**Fri. Sept. 21, 1987 McGraw Kaserne Military Base **

"Here are your night vision goggles and MREs, first aid and fire kits, space sleeping bag, extra socks and a flash light," Major Spiels explained to Lee. He then continued, "I'll fill out a form for you to get whatever you need from the quartermaster.

"Thank you sir," Lee replied standing at attention.

"Do you have a plan for getting into East Germany, Scarecrow?"

"Getting in is not the problem, Sir, it's getting out."

"You've been here before so there's nothing new. I remember a few hair brained stunts you've pulled off over the years," the major replied while filling out the paper work on Lee's arrival.

"It's been a few years, Sir, and now I have a wife and two sons to go home to," Lee said with pleasure in his voice.

This admission brought the major's head up and a slow grin started to spread across his face. He stood and stuck out his hand while saying, "Congratulations are in order. I can't believe that someone could make the old Scarecrow settle down. Why I remember when the two of us…"

Lee quickly cut Major Spiels off with a look, "We don't need to bring up old stories. Those days are behind me."

"Okay, Okay! But, I insist on dinner in the Officer's Club and you telling me all about this woman, who has tamed your heart," the major said with a hearty laugh.

"You can plan on it! Name the time!"

"After you have everything for your mission, how about you meet me back here?"

"Okay, see you in a bit!"

**Sat. Sept. 29, 1987 East Germany**

Lee had been in East Germany for a week now and getting in had been easy. He had found a desolate border crossing station with a lone guard in it. He figured the guard had woken with a massive headache, but with no memory of who had hit him.

He had made good time by getting to the vicinity of the hospital in three days' time and had found his contact to make his check in. From the hospital he worked south twenty-five miles with no luck of getting a lead on Birol. He had made his track back to the hospital area and made his next check in.

He was now currently headed west and he was about thirteen miles out. He was hoping to find a place to hunker down for the night. Scanning the area he saw a clump of three bushes to his left. Smiling he headed in that direction to make camp for the night.

**Sun. Sept. 30, 1987 Von Eiger's Chalet, Munich **

Birol laughed softly to himself as he stealthily made his way through the empty hallow feeling chalet. Although it was full of antiques, valuable vases, and other collectables it felt more like a museum than a home. He made his way to Von Eiger's sitting room where he sat in a high back winged chair reading a novel and drinking brandy.

Von Eiger looked up sharply and gasped in surprise at the intruder, "Who are you? How did…"

Von Eiger was cut off by Birol's menacing laugh. He stepped closer to the Baron and sneered, "You wanted out of the game, my friend. I have come to take you personally and permanently out!"

Von Eiger rose towering over the smaller man, "What is the means of this invasion of my home?"

"I believe you had a job to carry out for me. You failed in your mission! Now you have to pay for your failure!"

"I couldn't…I couldn't…" Von Eiger stammered. Even though he was taller than Birol, Von Eiger was very scared of him. He got a hold of himself and continued, "Mrs. King wouldn't tell me anything. She has been trained well since I last met her. Her cover while here in Munich was very convincing. I thought she would be easy, but I was wrong!" Since Birol had the look of murder in his eye, Von Eiger kept backing away. _What have I gotten myself into this time!_ Von Eiger wondered to himself.

Birol lunged at Von Eiger taking him by surprise and knocking him to the floor. Birol proceeded to pull a piece of wire from his pocket. He deftly wound the wire around the Baron's neck and pulled hard cutting off his air supply. After a couple of minutes, Birol let go of one end of his wire, pulled it free from the Baron's neck, wound it up and put it back in his pocket. Knowing the Baron was only unconscious Birol pulled his knife from his pants pocket and slit the Baron's throat, while he spoke to the soon to be dead man, "Don't worry Von Eiger the games over for you!" Birol then left the way he came in.

**Mon. Oct. 1, 1987 Agency, Q-Bureau **

Amanda sighed and dropped her head to her hands. She had awoken with a queasy stomach this morning and every smell seemed to intensify the pitch and roll of it. _I should have brought some crackers from home,_ she thought. "Maybe I'll walk down to the store and get crackers and ginger ale at lunch," she muttered. _Just great! Just what we need the stomach bug to go through the family!" _she thought.

She looked up and glanced at her husband's empty desk, which seemed to echo the emptiness her soul felt too. _At least he's made all his check-ins, _she thought. Every three days Billy had come to expect, like clockwork, that she would check to make sure her husband had made his contacts. Being behind the Iron Curtain was dangerous and she worried because he didn't have anyone covering his back, but she comforted herself in knowing that he was one of the best!

She sighed again looking around at the office which had piles of folders stacked all around the room. Her assignment was to purge files which were older than five years and decide if they were available for declassification; which consisted of perusing the file, seeing if all ends of the case were tied up, cataloging the file and case number, and loading them in boxes to be archived at the State Department. After almost two weeks, she was only through the letter C. This time she glanced at Lee's desk and scowled, "I know you had something to do with this, Stetson!"

"Resorting to talking to yourself, Amanda?" Francine asked in a highly amused voice.

"Oh Francine! Don't you know how to knock?" she snapped in frustration.

"Well, well. I do see after two weeks and no husband we are a little on the cranky side," Francine said in a snarky voice.

"Is there something I can help you with?" Amanda tried to politely ask, but all of a sudden her stomach decided that all the extra saliva she had been swallowing, and the little bit of toast she had for breakfast was no longer welcomed. Jumping to her feet, she pushed past Francine and ran to the bathroom down the hall. She made it just in time as her stomach got rid of its unwanted contents.

She wondered if she waited long enough if Francine would decide to leave, but then she heard a soft knock and Francine asking in a concerned voice, "Amanda, are you okay? I'm sorry about what I said. I know it must be hard having Lee gone with contact zero!"

Amanda couldn't believe that this was the same Francine so she unlocked the door and slowly opened it, "I feel a little better now, thanks."

Francine thought, _she may feel better, but she doesn't look any better._ To Amanda she said, "Maybe you should go home and get some rest!"

"No, I'll be fine. I think I will go for a walk, the fresh air will probably do me good. Was there something you needed?"

"It was a file, but I found it. See you later and hope you feel better!"

"Thanks Francine."

**Mon. Oct. 1, 1987 St. Joseph's Orphanage, East Germany **

Lee stood on the stoop of an East German orphanage waiting for his knock to be answered. He glanced around the yard and admitted to himself that this orphanage was in better up keep than most he had ever seen. Finally the door slowly opened, and a nun asked in German, "May I help you?"

Lee flashed her one of his smiles and returned in German, "Sister, I'm looking for a man." Lee stopped as he fished a picture of Birol out of his pocket, but continued as he handed it to the Sister to look at, "Have you seen this man before?"

Lee was watching the Sister's face closely, and he saw her eyes slightly widen in recognition while her lips pursed together in contemplation. She looked back at Lee and replied, "I'm sorry I have not seen this man! If you'll excuse me I need to get back to my work, and she started to shut the door.

Lee stuck a booted foot in the door and smirked, "Ah, Sister your face told me a different story. You recognize this man. Please let me come in and explain."

While Lee was trying to get the nun to let him in to talk, Father Freitag came into the room and asked, "Sister Margit, who is it?" Sister Margit sighed and opened the door for him to enter.

Lee took the picture from Sister Margit and handed it to the Father, "I am looking for this man. Have you seen him?"

Father Freitag looked at the picture and said, "Olaf! Yes this is Olaf!"

"Olaf?" Lee questioned. He assumed Birol had deceived these people by going under another name.

Sister Margit quickly spoke up, "Father Freitag, this man could be the Stasi! Don't give away any more!"

Lee turned to the sister and explained, "I'm not the Stasi, Sister, I'm an American and it is important you tell me all you know about this man!"

Father Freitage stepped in and suggested, "How about we take this to my office. Sister, Herr…"

"Stedman," Lee supplied.

"Ah yes, Sister and Herr Stedman, this way," Lee followed the nun and the Father to a back room and stepped into the small classroom slash office. Lee smiled as he took in the fact that the Father was the teacher for the boys of the orphanage. "Have a seat, Herr Stedman," the Father instructed. Lee and the sister obediently sat. "Now," the Father spoke to Lee as he moved to sit behind his desk, "Why are you looking for Olaf? Why would an American be looking for an East German peasant? A peasant; who had his whole family murdered by the Stasi."

Lee glanced at Sister Margit and saw her nervously twisting her hands, and he thought to himself,_ probably wondering what her penitence will be for lying. I wonder how Birol charmed her. This seems to be out of character for him, but then the man will use anybody to help himself._ Looking back to the Father, Lee explained, "Father, this man is not a German peasant named Olaf, but an Arab terrorist named Addi Birol. You and your orphanage are lucky he needed you because this man is highly dangerous. He has killed thousands of innocent people for his beliefs."

Lee was cut off when the sister angrily bit out, "How do we know you are telling the truth?"

"Sister Margit, that is enough!" Father Freitag had risen from his seat and looked sternly at Sister Margit as he would one of his unruly students. Turning to Lee, he instructed, "Continue Herr Stedman."

Lee removed his Federal ID and flashed it at the Father, "Actually it's Federal Agent Lee Stetson, and I'm with the United States Government." He produced several more photos of Birol and continued, "Last year our government along with several other countries' government formed a coalition to capture Birol. In our last operation, the one where we finally captured him, he kidnapped my wife…" Lee stopped here and swallowed hard, closed his eyes and ran a hand through his hair. He looked back at the Father and continued in a soft voice, "and committed unsavory acts toward her. When we recently found out he had escaped prison her nightmares came back with a vengeance."

"So you are looking for Olaf to get revenge!" Sister Margit found herself saying because she was finding it hard to believe this man sitting next to her. She also knew she would be in trouble with Father Freitag for her continued out bursts.

"No Sister, I am not here on revenge, but on behalf of my government. The terrorist group which Birol was or still is the head of has taken responsibility for several bombings, one of which was in West Germany; so if Birol happens to get his comeuppance trust me, Sister, I won't be sorry!"

"Obliviously, you know by now, Herr Stetson, that yes we have seen this man. I am sorry to say that he is no longer in the area or in our country." Father Freitag's admission caused Lee to sigh and run his hand through his hair in frustration.

"Do you happen to know…"Lee was cut off by a commotion outside the window.

"It's Father Mathias from our sister orphanage in West Germany. Come he may have more news for you Herr Stetson."

The trio made their way back through the orphanage and out the front door where everyone had gathered around the cart and driver, who had made their way into the yard. Father Freitag, stopped short and asked with concern, "Where is Father Mathias? He is not sick I hope."

"I am Father Sauer. Father Mathias is dead, sir!"

"Dead! How?"

"Murdered, last month on his way back from your orphanage. The horses and cart returned with Father Mathias, who had his throat slit. We do not know who would have done this!"

Sister Margit upon hearing of Father Mathias' fate let out a loud gasp and fainted with a thud to the floor. Father Freitag looked to Lee and quickly explained, "Father Mathias smuggled the man you are looking for into West Germany. Go, find him, and bring justice!"

Lee somberly replied, "I'm sorry, Father, for your loss. Thanks for the tip and I hope to be able to bring him to justice." Lee left the sad scene behind him as he made up a plan to get back into West Germany.

**Tues. Oct. 2, 1987 Agency, Billy's Office **

Amanda and Francine had been summoned to Billy's office after the mornings briefing. They were sitting in front of his desk as Billy sat on the front edge. Picking up the report Billy re-read it and said, "Our Munich Agent got information that Baron Von Eiger has been murdered. It was pre-suffocation by a wire around his neck and death by a slit throat. Sounds like Birol's MO, but we don't have positive proof."

"If we think its Birol then we need to get word to Lee. At least he would be out from behind the Iron Curtain. He checks in tomorrow. We could get word to one of his contacts…" Amanda started.

Before she could get a full ramble started, Billy stopped her, "It's too dangerous Amanda!"

"But sir…" She tried again.

"Amanda we don't know Lee's contacts and if we did we wouldn't know which ones he would use. It could be too dangerous for the contact or Lee if the information got into the wrong hands." Francine amazingly said in a gentle and patient manner.

"I'm sorry Amanda, Francine's right on this. I'm sure Lee will figure out soon where Birol is."

Amanda let out a long sigh and rose from her chair and asked, "Was there anything else, sir?"

"No, I just wanted to share what we found out about Von Eiger."

"Thank you, sir. I'll be in the Q-Bureau working on those declassifications.

**Fri. Oct. 5, 1987 St. Casper's Parish **

Lee sat in the confessional with a curtain separating him from the Priest in the next booth. He started, "Forgive me Father…"

"Ah, Herr Stetson…What can I do for you?" Father Hirsch asked.

"Taped under your seat is a picture. Do you recognize this man?"

Father Hirsch reached under his seat, pulled the picture free, and studied it for a moment. He finally replied, "I have heard that this man is Birol, head of Karbala, who arranged the bombing at the Glockenspiel."

Lee was getting excited that maybe another lead was going to come and he asked, "Has he been seen in Munich or this area?"

"There has been rumor, but nothing definite. Sorry that I don't have more concrete information."

"No, No! This is great…thanks a lot my friend."

"You are welcome and be careful, Scarecrow!"

He left the confessional and made his way to the front of the massive Cathedral to perform his "penance rites." Leaving the Parish, Lee tried to think where to start his search. _First of all, I'm going to get a hotel room and shower, eat a good hot meal and sleep, _he thought.

**Sat. Oct. 6, 1987 Stetson Household **

"Hi Fellas!" Dotty called as she walked into the living room, after coming over from her apartment.

"Hi Grandma!" both Philip and Jamie said from the couch.

"Your mom is letting you play video games this early in the day?"

"She hasn't gotten up yet."

"Huh…" Dotty was a little concerned, "I think I'll go up and check on her."

She made her way up to her daughter's room and when she cracked the door she noticed that Amanda wasn't in bed. Then she heard what sounded like Amanda being sick, "Amanda?" She called in a concerned voice.

"Mother, you probably don't want to be around me. I've got a stomach bug."

"Oh, I'm sorry. Listen darling don't worry about the boys, I'll take care of everything."

Amanda walked out of the bathroom, "Really mother they are both old enough to fend for themselves."

"All the same, don't worry just get your rest!"

"Thanks," Amanda muttered as she climbed back into bed.


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22**

**Sat. Oct. 6, 1987 Hotel, Munich **

Lee was eating breakfast, which was more of a chore at this time of day than a desire, but he wasn't sure when he would get a decent meal again. _Where to start looking for Birol?_ He wondered. _Amanda seemed to think Birol and Von Eiger was linked,_ he thought. He rolled his eyes and threw his napkin on top of his partially eaten food, _and knowing Amanda her instincts are right on. I guess I pay the Baron a visit, _he thought and smiled. He then muttered to himself as he pulled a handful of bills from his pocked and threw them on the table, "I won't mind getting my hands on you myself, Baron Von Eiger!"

**Same Day Baron Von Eiger's Chalet, Munich **

Lee was playing the American tourist while he was roaming the city. Blending in, while being in broad daylight, he had found was one of the best disguises. He was thinking of Amanda, while he seemed to the average person to be wandering the streets; but in reality he was walking voidance patterns. Thinking of Amanda could be dangerous he knew, but it was hard not to when the last two times he had been to Munich had been with her. The first time, had been to get an American out of the country, but of course nothing was ever simple and the plot thickened to include Baron Von Eiger. The second time, Amanda, who was only a civilian auxiliary at the time, had been sent as a courier; but she had been arrested for passing counterfeit American bills. He chuckled at the memory of him arriving and seeing Amanda in jail. He hadn't really been that upset about missing a weekend with Jillian in the Poconos, but at the time he enjoyed getting mad at Amanda and making her feel like he was doing her a big favor. Together they had uncovered a counterfeit ring, which involved one of the Agency's agents, who was posted here.

Before he knew it he was in front of the Baron's chalet, which had police barriers around it. Looking around and seeing no one, he slipped past the barrier and made his way up to the house. Gaining entrance, he started searching the house.

A couple of hours later, Lee left the chalet with a handful of letters, which was addressed to Ahab Habib from his brother Armen, and headed back to his hotel room. Once he was back to his hotel room, he set to reading over the letters he had gotten from the Baron's home. The letters didn't really make sense and it seemed odd that the Baron would have letters that were written between the two brothers. A couple of hours passed with him looking over, re-reading, and pondering the letters. Then he remembered Amanda's research, "Ahab had been in prison with Von Eiger and Armen had been in prison with Birol. They're in code!" he muttered to the empty room.

**Mon. Oct. 8, 1987 Hotel, Munich **

Lee had spent the rest of the weekend trying to crack the code. _This would go a lot better if I had Amanda! H_e thought for the umpteenth time. He decided help is what he needed so he picked up the phone and dialed long distance back to Washington DC. Waiting for the phone to be answered he finally said, "Billy this is Scarecrow!"

From the other end Lee could hear the familiar voice, "Scarecrow it's great to actually hear from you. Any news there man!"

"This is an unsecured line, Billy: I haven't caught up to Mother Bird yet, but I've traced him back to the barn yard. I have obtained some feathers from the chick's coop. The feathers are between the goslings. I think they have molted," Lee relayed in a code he, Billy, and Dr. Symth had established.

"Good work! We've gotten news that Chick was murdered. Looks like Mother Bird's MO. Hopefully, he's still over there."

"I have a couple more contacts to see here in the city. Hopefully, I can get a lead on where he is."

"Make a pillow with the feathers," Which in code, Billy was telling Lee to fax them to the Agency.

"Sure thing. How's Amanda?"

"She's hanging in there, but not too happy about her assignment," Billy chuckled.

Lee felt relief that his wife was safely behind a desk. He ventured to ask, "Can I talk to her, Billy?"

"You're contact zero, Scarecrow!"

"I had to call the Agency anyways and who's to say Amanda didn't…"

"Okay hold on the line and I'll see what I can do," Billy being a married man too knew what Lee was going through being separated from his wife. After a moment, Billy was back on the line, "She'll be down in a minute," and the two friends chatted while they waited for her. Billy finally heard a soft knock and looked up as she entered. He told Lee, "Here she is!"

Billy handed the phone to a quizative looking Amanda. She said into the receiver, "Hello."

"Amanda, you sound beautiful!"

"Lee! Lee, where are you? You sound okay!"

Lee laughed and replied, "I'm on safe ground for right now and I'm fine, actually better now that I've talked to you. Boy do I miss you!"

"I miss you too!"

"Are you doing okay? The boys? Your mother?"

"We are all fine, but missing you terribly!"

"I don't want to go, but I'm supposed to be contact zero."

"I know. I love you, Lee!"

"I love you too, Amanda! Tell Dotty and the boys that I love them too," and he reluctantly hung up the phone.

Amanda stood a second longer with the receiver to her ear. She then put the phone back in its cradle and turned to Billy, smiled and said, "Thank you sir!"

Billy smiled affectionately and replied, "Your welcome." And she left his office.

**Same Day Munich, Germany **

Lee had worked his way around the city visiting his contacts. The little he could glean was that Birol had moved toward the city of Karlsruhe. He would grab a quick lunch and head out in that direction. It was getting old being one step behind.

He had gone back to his hotel to pack and check out. He headed back to McGraw Kaserne to see if any military transports were headed in that direction. Going in as military would be a good cover.

He found Major Spiels in his office, "Scarecrow glad to see you've made it back in one piece. Did you complete your mission?"

"No, it's lead me back here, Sir. Are you going to have any vehicles going near Karlsruhe soon?"

"The day after tomorrow I have a convoy headed to Mannheim. You can hitch a ride then."

"Thanks, Can I have a place to stay for the next couple of nights?"

"How about my quarters?"

Lee smiled and said a hearty, "Thanks Sir, that'll be great!"

**Same Day Stetson Household **

Dotty and Curt had picked up the boys from their after school activities. Philip had soccer practice and Jamie had his photography club today. When the four walked into the house they were greeted with a wonderful aroma. "Smells like your mom's made chili," Dotty stated while taking a big whiff

While the group removed their coats and hung them up in the closet, Amanda called out, "Supper's ready!"

"It smells great, Mom! Boy am I staving, coach had us running relays down the field today," Philip explained.

Amanda started ladling heaping helpings of chili into bowls. While she went to remove the cornbread from the oven, Dotty stated, "You must have gotten off work early today."

"I worked through lunch so I could get home early to fix supper," She cheerfully replied while sporting a huge smile.

"Did you get a raise or promotion, Mom?" Jamie questioned.

"Let's all sit and I'll tell you while we eat," She said.

After everyone had eaten a while Amanda said, "I talked to Lee today!"

All heads looked up at her and then they all started bombarding her with questions, "How is he? Where is he? When is he coming home? How did you talk to him?

Amanda was finally able to get order again and told them what she knew, "Lee had to call the Agency and we got to talk. He is doing well and he asked about all of you. I told him that we really missed him and he told me to tell each of you that he loves you!"

"When is he coming home, Mom?"

"I don't know, Sweetheart!"

"Where is he at, Amanda?"

"Mother!" Amanda said in an admonishing voice. She then continued, "You know I can't tell that! But, I will say that he is back on safer ground." She gave her mom a soft smile.

Amanda looked down to take another spoonful of chili and felt the contents of her stomach rising. She quickly left the table and headed to the bathroom. After a few minutes, she returned and poured herself some ginger ale.

"Maybe you should see a doctor about your stomach," her mother suggested with concern.

"It's probably just stress," She brushed her mother off as she went to lie on the couch.

**Wed. Oct. 10, 1987 West Germany **

Scarecrow jumped off of one of the convoy trucks as it passed by the town of Stuttgart. He quickly ducked into the woods and pulled out his map. Studying it again he wondered for the hundredth time if Birol was still in the area. He felt he was always ten steps behind him. _Why would he still be here?_ He wondered to himself. _Maybe he is lying low to plan his next move, _was his next thought. Sighing, he decided to loop back to Stuttgart and get a Schweinbraten for lunch.

By coming through the woods, Lee, was able to slunk up behind a shed. He looked intently at his surroundings and saw that the coast was clear. He deftly scampered from behind the shed to behind the Das Lokal which in English was a plain old bar. Lee hoped the ownership hadn't changed since the last time he was here. He quickly scooted to the side door and peeked in the window. He smiled when he saw that Hilda was still there. Slowly he opened the door and slipped inside the dim lite room, but startled azure eyes darted his way while the owner picked up a frying pan for a weapon. Lee quickly said in German, "Hilda es ist mir Vogelscheuche!"

"Scarecrow, why do you scare an old woman?" Hilda replied in broken English. She made her way to him and engulfed him in her arms, "You are still too handsome for your own good, but too skinny! Sit and Hilda will make a couple of Schweinbratens for you!"

Lee laughed good naturally and replied, "Thanks, but only one please."

She gave him a disapproving look and set about fixing his lunch while she good naturedly spouted off in German about what a man needed to eat. Her ramblings set Lee to laughing at his host. After she brought him his food, he pulled out a picture and asked, "Have you seen or heard tell of this man being in the area?"

Hilda took the picture and studied it a moment, "I'm pretty sure he ate here a few days ago, but he has a full beard now."

"Do you know if he is still around?  
"I haven't seen him since."

"Did he say where he was going?"

"No, he wasn't friendly. No small talk. Sorry I can't help more"

"No, No this is great!"

Hilda spotted the wedding ring on Lee's left ring finger and asked, "This a cover or the real thing?"

Lee smiled thinking of Amanda, "The real thing, Hilda!"

"That's good, it is time you settled down! Now, tell Hilda all about your wife!"

Lee kissed her on the cheek and laughingly replied, "Good to see that something's don't change!"

**Fri. Oct. 12, 1987 Agency, Q-Bureau **

Amanda was having a hard time trying to stay awake this afternoon. Surprisingly it wasn't because of nightmares, although she still had them occasionally, she was now too worried about Lee's safety to worry about herself. She thought too that maybe her appointments with Dr. Quidd were helping. So she figured she must be exhausted from the stomach bug she had. She never remembered having one this long before. _It's a good thing the boys are with their father this weekend because I plan on sleeping!_ She thought to herself.

Looking around the Q-Bureau, she saw that things were starting to look up. She was halfway through the alphabet with the declassification. Those files had been labeled, arranged in boxes, and delivered to State this morning.

While she was thinking of the accomplishment that had been made, she heard a knock at the door. Since Billy had advised her to lock the door when she was up her alone, she got up and unlocked it, opened it and said when she saw that it was her Section Chief, "Good afternoon, Sir."

Billy smiled pleasantly and replied, "Same to you…um…Amanda…you know Lee normally handles the monthly reviews with the President and his cabinet, but since he is out of the country…well, um…Dr. Symth decided that the job fell to you."

"To me!" Amanda said in an incredulous voice.

"Well only until Scarecrow returns."

"But sir, I've never met the President let alone briefed him or his staff on anything!"

"I'll be there with you. It'll be a good experience. You always have everything ready, Lee is just the spokesperson."

Amanda sighed, "Since this is an order, there's no need in arguing about it."

"Good, I'll meet you here Monday morning at nine and we'll go over to the White House together. Have a good weekend, Amanda!" and he left the office.

"Yeah, great weekend! There goes all my sleep because now I'll be preparing for this meeting!" she muttered. Looking around the office again she decided that everything was in order and she muttered, "I'm going home!"

**Fri. Oct. 12, 1987 Karlsruhe, West Germany **

Lee had made his way close to Karlsruhe thanks to people having seen Birol. _You're not traveling inconspicuously. Has a year in jail made you sloppy? _Lee wandered. He decided he would carefully find a place to sleep outside of town. _Later this evening once shadows begin to fall, I'll slip into town and have a look around, _he thought.

He had been walking for two days and was ready for a break. He found a soft spot under some trees to make camp. He walked over to the spot and hoisted his pack from his back and dropped it at his feet. After having freedom from his burden, he stretched his back. He pulled the bed roll from the frame and used it to make a softer seat. Leaning his back against a tree he pulled some beef jerky from his pack and bit off a piece. Closing his eyes he tried to pretend it was a steak dinner he had grilled for Amanda and himself. After a few moments of day dreaming, he muttered, "Who are you kidding, Stetson, no amount of pretending is going to make this a real steak!" He started thinking of home and what everyone's activities might be. He wondered how Philip was doing on his geography project, _it's due today. I wonder if he's got his oral part ready. I hope he uses some of those knick-knacks. I'm pretty sure I told him about those Russian nesting dolls." _Lee sighed and then chuckled; _here I am an amateur parent four thousand miles away worrying about it. Amanda's a pro, she'll make sure he has everything;_ he smiled at the thought of his family and dozed off for a little nap.

Lee woke with a creek in his neck and realized he had dozed off for longer than he had intended too. He stood to stretch the kinks from his body and looked at the time sixteen hundred hours, _another hour and I can head out, _he thought. He pulled the map out to study over it again. He started pacing to expel his pent up nerves. He always got like this before a mission. _This whole thing has been a mission, Stetson_! he silently admonished himself; but thinking back over the last three weeks he knew this was the first time he felt like he was close on Birol's trail. _I think I'll just see if I can spot Birol, and if I do see him I'll form a plan before I act, _with these thoughts running through his mind he gathered his flashlight, map, night vision goggles, and headed towards Karlsruhe.

He stealthily made his way into Karlsruhe and moved from building to building. On the other edge of town Lee found a deserted warehouse, but it looked like someone was stirring in it. He circled around the structure and found a crack in a board and peered into it. Lee saw Birol alone in the room seemingly oblivious to his spying. He cautiously crept away from the building and made his way back to his camp to plan his attack.

While Lee crept away, Birol slowly smiled to himself and muttered, "Welcome to the game, Scarecrow!" Birol spent the rest of the night getting ready for their timely meeting.

**Sun. Oct. 14, 1987 Stetson Household **

Curt and Dotty were returning from their Sunday morning ritual of antique browsing and lunch. Dotty climbed out of the truck and said, "I want to check on Amanda. I haven't seen her all weekend, which feels weird since I live right on the same property."

"Dotty, now you normally eat dinner with them and with Amanda's crazy job…"

"Oh I know, Curt, It's just harder getting used to having my own place again. I haven't lived alone for seven years now and…" she trailed off as they stepped into the house, the very quiet house. Turning to Curt she said, "The boys must still be with Joe."

They walked into the living room and saw files, folders, and papers all over the place with Amanda asleep on the couch still clutching a file to her chest.

Dotty picked up some papers, started to peruse them, and read out loud, "Birol…Ahab Habib…Von Eiger…Scarecrow,…"she said looking up at Curt, "Now, that's Lee…What is this stuff?"

"Dotty, I don't think you should be looking at these files!"

"White House report, "Dotty read from a pad written in Amanda's hand. "East Germany…letters…"

"Dotty!" Curt tried to take the papers from her hands.

"Now, Curt, how else can I learn anything about what Lee and Amanda do? Heaven knows they share little!"

"I know that we wouldn't want to know all that they do. Having National Security Secrets is dangerous!" Curt explained.

Amanda shot up on the couch and sharply said, "Mother, what are you doing?" which startled Dotty causing her to drop the papers back onto the coffee table.

"Only trying to straighten up for you dear!" she replied with a smile.

"You know this is classified information!" Amanda admonished as if she was talking to a child. Amanda got up from the couch and headed to the kitchen. As she made her way across the room a dizzy spell came on and she grabbed for a chair to steady herself. After pausing a moment she continued on to get some crackers and ginger ale.

Dotty, who was watching her daughter, got concerned when she saw Amanda grab the chair to steady herself; and said as she moved towards her, "Amanda, you really need to see a doctor!"

"I just got up too soon from the couch. It's nothing more than a head rush!"

"I'm worried about you out there all by yourself."

"You don't need to worry because I'm not out there all by myself."

"Oh, they paired you with someone else?" Dotty said with apparent relief.

"No! Thanks to your son in law I'm not out there at all! And now I'm stuck with a monthly briefing he always does."

Dotty smiled happily about knowing Amanda was safe in the office. Amanda looked at her mother and rolled her eyes, shook her head and smirked, "You're as bad as Lee," she finally added.

"Don't you think this stomach bug has been going on long enough?" Dotty tried again.

"I'll be having my annual physical and evaluation for work and trust me, they will run every test imaginable and if there's anything serious it will show up!"

This seemed to ease her mother's worry and Dotty gave her daughter a hug and replied, "Okay, it's just that mothers always worry about their babies!"

**Sun. Oct. 14, 1987 Karlsruhe, West Germany **

Birol had thought, Scarecrow, would have been back yesterday. "Maybe Scarecrow realized you did know that he was lurking in the night," Birol told himself. Walking around the abandoned building, Birol checked the traps he had set. _Would Scarecrow fall prey to them?_ He wondered. _I know he will come tonight. I can feel it!_

The way Birol felt about waiting for the arrival of Scarecrow, was like a hunter, who has all his senses heightened while waiting for his prey.

Almost as if Birol had willed Scarecrow to the scene, he heard the groaning of a door. "Glad to see you have showed up, Scarecrow!" he called out into the room. Birol was cursing himself for not having the whole area lit, but he didn't want to alert people to the fact that this building was being occupied. He waited and didn't hear any other sounds.

Lee was just inside the door cursing the squeak that gave his presence away. He was thankful for the night vision goggles that he wore because he could see traps, which Birol had set. He inched his way around the wall being careful to step over the traps.

"I know you're here, Scarecrow. I'm glad to see you took my bait," Birol called out again in a patronizing voice.

With his goggles Lee could see Birol clearly; but Birol couldn't see Lee, who was wearing complete black and hanging in the shadows. He stealthily kept inching his way closer to Birol while Birol kept darting his eyes from corner to corner. Although Lee's adrenalin was in full force, he waited patiently for Birol to turn his back. After what felt like an eternity, Birol finally turned away from him and Lee was able to rush him. He was able to get his arm around Birol's throat, "Is this, what you had in mind?" He bit out.

Birol worked at removing Lee's arm from around his throat, but was having a hard time getting leverage. Birol was able to kick his leg behind him getting Lee in the knee which caused him to loosen his hold on Birol's neck. Birol was then able to get a grip around Lee's arm and flipped him over causing him to land on the floor with a hard thud; but Lee quickly recovered and jumped up, landing a round house kick to Birol's middle causing him to double over. While Birol was doubled over, Lee brought his double fist down on Birol's neck causing him to fall to the floor.

Birol's adrenaline allowed him to flip up on both feet and land a cross left to Lee's jaw. While Lee shook his head to regain composure, Birol pulled out a knife and took a swing at Lee making a bone deep gash across his thigh. Lee grimaced in pain, but was able to knock the knife from Birol's hand by a side kick.

Birol knowing that there was a trap behind Lee decided to work him backwards. Birol was able to pull another knife from his boot while Lee pulled his gun from his belt. Birol lunged at Lee thrusting the knife out toward his chest, but Lee turned sideways missing the knife; at the same moment he fired his gun with the bullet grazing Birol in the leg. Birol took another sideways swing with the knife catching Lee on the arm, while Lee fired his gun again getting Birol in the shoulder. Birol and Lee both decided now was their opportunity to finish the other off, and moved toward each other with great force. As Lee brought his gun down on top of Birol's head, Birol's knife got Lee in the chest between his right ribs. As Birol fell to the ground unconscious, Lee stumbled backward into Birol's trap and found himself lying on the floor tangled in wire.

Lee franticly worked trying to free himself, but before he knew it, Birol started to regain consciousness. Before he had completely liberated himself, Birol was finally able to acquire his bearings and slowly crawled toward him. Lee was very close to being loose of the wire when Birol was able to seize Lee's gun, which had been beyond his reach. Birol was able to pull himself to a standing position and aimed the gun at Lee. Before he pulled the trigger and Lee lost consciousness, Birol menacingly laughed, "It's been nice playing with you again, Scarecrow! I think I'll head west and continue the game with your partner!" Birol then fired the gun hitting Lee in the left side of his chest.

Amanda was the last thing Lee remembered thinking about before he faded into darkness.


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23**

**Mon. Oct. 15, 1987 White House **

For Amanda to say that she was nervous would have been an understatement, for in fact she was terrified. She sat along with Billy and Dr. Symth in a briefing room of the White House surrounded by the President's cabinet members. The Vice President entered the room and Amanda stood when Billy and Dr. Symth rose. The Vice President shook Billy and Dr. Symth's hand and greeted them warmly. He turned to Amanda, extended his arm, and once they were shaking hands warmly said, "Mrs. Stetson, it is a pleasure to finally meet you. Your husband speaks very highly of you and I have enjoyed keeping up with the two of yours exploits together."

"Thank you, sir. You speak too kindly!" Amanda humbly replied.

The four sat down at the table again while the Vice President talked amicably to his fellow cabinet members. A few minutes later the door, which joined this room to the Oval Office, opened and the President entered. Amanda again followed suit when Billy and Dr. Symth rose.

Dr. Symth ran his hand down the front of his suit coat and spoke, "Mr. President, I would like to introduce Mrs. Amanda Stetson," he gestured with his right arm towards Amanda, who tipped her head, and he then continued, "Who is filling in for Mr. Stetson while he is out of the country on assignment."

Amanda quickly extended her arm and the President warmly shook it and replied, "A pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Stetson."

"Nice to meet you too, Sir," Amanda humbly said with a soft smile while willing the contents of her nervous stomach to behave.

"Please have a seat," the President addressed the three agents as he himself took the chair at the head of the table. The President started the meeting by asking for the Agency reports. Dr. Symth and Billy explained the open cases and some of the extremely important cases which had been solved. Dr. Symth turned to Amanda and said, "Agent Stetson, who is acting as the head of our Q-Bureau in her husband's stead, will bring you up to date on Addi Birol."

Amanda stood and trying to calm her nerves started in a tremulous voice. Applying a trick, Lee had told her he did to calm his nerves when addressing heads of state, she was finally able to relax and smile. With her nerves calming she spoke in a more confident manner, "We have tied the German Baron Von Eiger with the Libyan Ahab Habib, who were in the same prison in West Germany; and the Saudi an Addi Birol to the Libyan Armen Habib, who were in the same prison in East Germany. Although, there was no proof of Von Eiger and Birol having personal contact before September 30th when Birol took the Baron's life, Scarecrow, who was able to track Birol from the hospital, where he made his escape in East Germany, to the Baron's chalet in West Germany, was able to gain entrance and retrieved some letters." At this time Amanda distributed the decoded letters to the group and then continued, "Scarecrow faxed these letters to the Agency and our crypto department was able to decode them. The letters on the surface are addressed between the two Habib brothers, but the decoded letters are really addressed to Von Eiger from Birol. The letters instructed Von Eiger to kidnap me to gain information that Scarecrow may have shared about Karbala. The letters also explain how Von Eiger was to distribute the letters to the heads of various Karbala cells to carry out his plans. Three of the dates on the envelopes are very close to the dates of the three bombings. Our latest Intel is that Scarecrow is very close to finding Birol, but we have not heard any further news."

"Thank you Agent Stetson for this thorough information. Dr. Symthe do you know the next plan of action?"

"We are following leads, Sir, of where various cells of Karbala may be located. Most of these cells are within countries, who are not our friends. We have not located any cells within the United States. Scarecrow, before being assigned overseas had various tips which never panned out. He figured they were to throw us off, but we have no new Intel on any future hits."

"Mr. Melrose, you personally spoke to Scarecrow recently did he give any indication of when he could get his assignment wrapped up?"

"He has always been a few steps behind Birol with having to track him from behind the Iron Curtain. He has been able to track Birol into West Germany where he felt certain he was close on Birol's tail. It seems Birol has not been careful in staying inconspicuous in his travels."

"Good. I want us doing everything we can to stop Birol before he causes more harm!" The President replied.

"Yes, Sir!" both Dr. Symth and Billy simultaneously replied.

**Mon. Oct. 15, 1987 Karlsruhe, West Germany **

A weak Lee came to again and knew that this time he needed to get out in the open or he would be seeing death. He knew he had lost a lot of blood even though at different times when he had come to in the night he had worked at stopping the bleeding. He pulled himself along the floor as best he could for he was determined to live; he had too much waiting for him at home to give up, plus he had to get home before Birol attacked. He kept working his way to the front door and had almost made it before the pain overtook him and he passed out again.

When Lee woke this time he could see the first hints of dawn. He slid on his stomach to the door and was able to pull it open from the bottom. He pulled himself along with his good arm, rolled through the opening, and landed with a thud on the ground. He tried not to succumb to unconsciousness this time because he wasn't sure if he would be able to come back out of it. He lay there for what seemed like hours until he heard a wagon on the road. He tried to set himself up to get the driver's attention.

He could faintly hear a woman's voice saying in German, "Papa, look over there an injured man!"

Lee through his blurry vision and foggy mind remembered being helped into the back of a wagon and transported to a cottage and being helped into bed before complete unconsciousness took over. When he came to again a pretty young woman's face came into focus. Lee tried to speak, but he could only make a croaking sound because his throat was so dry.

"Here let me help you get some water," the young girl offered and helped him raise his head while bringing a cup to his lips. Lee was very thirsty and he couldn't help but wanting to drink greedily, but the young girl cautioned, "Only sips! Don't, overdo it!"

He was barely able to get out, "I need to get a message home!" The girl didn't hear his soft request for she was rattling off about his different wounds and how she had tried to treat them. His stab wound in the leg was to the bone, but she was able to stitch it and also stitch the smaller gash on his arm. She explained that she was afraid his lung was punctured because he had trouble breathing. The bullet was still in his shoulder, but there wasn't anything she could do. She then proceeded to ask, "What happened? How did you get hurt?"

He tried to rise up, but the pain was too great and he clasped back on to the bed. _I feel like I've been ran over by a truck!_ He thought to himself. The girl start to give him some more pain medicine, but he refused. Instead he tried to speak again in German, "I need to get message home!"

"You speak German," the girl happily replied.

She got up to get her father while Lee sighed in frustration as his mind filled with questions, _how long have I been here? Has Birol made it to the States? Was Amanda safe?_ With the thought of his wife he tried to rise again, but clasped back onto the bed and mumbled, "Amanda!"

The girl returned with her father who greeted him with, "Glad to see you joining the living young man. I almost gave you up for dead!"

Lee earnestly looked from the girl to her father then back to the girl and hoarsely said, "I need…I need…to get…a message…"

"No, you need rest!" the girl interrupted, "I'll get some broth."

Lee shot his good arm out and grabbed her by the wrist, "No, I need to get message…life and death…please it is important…will you please help?"

The father finally asked, "What is it you want us to do?"

"Do you know Hilda in Stuttgart, who owns the Das Lokal?"

"Jah, we know her!" the father said.

Lee faintly smiled, "Good, I need you to write down a message and deliver it to Hilda telling her to pass it onto Father Hirsch."

"Rachel, go get some paper and pencil, then scribe this man's dictation. I want you to personally deliver his message to Hilda. I'll stay with our guest while you are gone," her father instructed her.

**Fri. Oct. 19, 1987 Agency, Q-Bureau **

Amanda had had her annual physical this morning. Dr. Kelford told her that the lab results would be back by the end of next week. She then had her psychological evaluation with Dr. Quidd. Normally, it would have been with Dr. Pfaff, but since she had already been referred to Dr. Quidd he was the lucky one to get to evaluate her. He was pleased with her progress and told her she didn't need to come back unless things started up again. He seemed to think she had been handling Lee's assignment well.

Amanda sighed for in truth she felt exhausted after this morning. She was also anxious because Lee had missed his check in on Tuesday, but Billy said not to worry because maybe he had been lead to far out to get to one of his contacts, or maybe it was too risky to his cover and mission to contact anyone. She had hoped he would have checked in within the last two days, but no such luck. Today was his next scheduled check in.

Amanda tried to concentrate on the files before her. She was almost finished with her declassifying assignment. She looked up and called, "come in," when she heard a knock on the door.

A somber Billy Melrose came into the Q-Bureau and locked the door after him. Amanda could feel her heart dropping to the pit of her stomach and she softly said, "It's Lee isn't it, sir?"

Billy looked down at his feet, swallowed hard, looked back up at Amanda, and with emotion in his voice replied, "He's missed his second check in," he paused for a second, but quickly added with optimism, "Now he could still be out of range," Billy then looked back at his feet and softly finished, "but Dr. Symth has declared him missing."

Amanda sat in stunned silence not sure what to say, not really feeling anything, but numbness. After a few minutes of staring into space she finally looked at Billy, who was saying something. "Excuse me, sir, you were saying?"

"I want you to go home. I can get someone to take you."

"No sir, I can take myself. I need to go pick up Philip and Jamie to let them know. Thank you, sir, for telling me right away!"

She stood, gathered her coat and purse, and quickly exited the Q-Bureau before the tears that threatened; started to fall. Billy stood motionless watching Amanda flee the room.

Amanda pulled up in front of Philip and Jamie's school not really sure how she arrived there as it seemed the car must have been on autopilot. She slowly got out of the car and reluctantly made her way inside of the middle school building. She walked to the office and calmly told the secretary, "I am Amanda Stetson and I need to take my son, Jamie King, home as there has been a family emergency!"

"Yes ma'am. Let me get the principal for you."

The secretary hurried off to explain the situation to the principal. A few minutes later the principal escorted Amanda to Jamie's class where she excused him for the rest of the day.

"Mom has something happened to Lee?" Jamie questioned.

"How about we get your brother and then we can have a family meeting with your grandmother when we get home," Amanda calmly explained.

Jamie knew this meant bad news.

Arriving home Amanda told the boys to go on to the house and she would see if their grandmother was home. Slowly trudging up the stairs, she stopped at the top and knocked on the door. A minute later Dotty opened the door and she flung herself into her mother's arms and sobbed.

After a minute of holding her sobbing daughter, Dotty questioned, "What is it? Is it Lee? Please tell me?"

Amanda tried to compose herself and asked, "Will you come to a family meeting?"

Dotty's answer was to put her arm around her daughter's shoulders and lead her to the main house.

They found the boys nervously sitting on the couch. Dotty went and sat on the couch between her two grandsons. Amanda nervously started to pace, a trait she had picked up from her husband, not knowing how to start. She stopped, turned around to face them, and started explaining in her best agent voice, which sounded detached from the situation, "Lee was to check in every three days with contacts in Germany, who would relay back to us in the states. The last we knew he was very close to catching up with who he was sent after. So when he missed his check in on Monday, it was assumed he was close to wrapping up the mission, and it would jeopardize him or the mission to risk communication. We still did not hear anything the last two days, and then today he missed his second check in. Now, he could still be okay, just out of range to make communication, but the director of the Agency is listing Lee as missing!"

Dotty, Philip, and Jamie sat in stunned silence with numb looks on their faces and tears spilling from their eyes. Philip quickly got up and ran to his room. Jamie got up and walked to his mother, gave her a hug, and encouragingly said, "Lee will make it home! He found you and grandma and I know he will find a way home!"

"Thanks Jamie," Amanda whispered and he excused himself to his room.

Dotty came to her daughter and pulled her into an embrace where the two women stood crying together.

**Sat. Oct. 20, 1987 Karlsruhe, West Germany**

Levi Bauer was a farmer by trade and a political activist on the side. He knew the political scene like the back of his hand for he kept up with the latest news. He knew there was a growing unrest in the Eastern Bloc countries, and he was working from this side to aid in their freedom. He had lived through and seen much in his sixty-five years; so after finding certain documents on the injured man, which revealed him as Lee Stetson, and the non-sensical message he dictated to his daughter, Rachel, Levi knew there was more to this situation.

He had watched as Rachel tried to work her healing magic on the man for the past six days. Rachel had been a gift to him and his wife in their old age. Even though she was only a child of twenty, she had the gift of healing like her mother. Many came to the young girl for help. She knew which herbs and roots to use for the different sicknesses and injuries. The man had aroused a few times only to lapse back into unconsciousness. He could be heard muttering the name, "Amanda." Rachel had taken to soothing back his hair when he called the name and this seemed to calm him and bring a soft smile to his lips.

Levi feared for the man's life because he knew the bullet was still in his shoulder, his breathing seemed to be more labored, and now he was starting with a cough. He feared the man's injuries were too much, even for Rachel's expertise. He needed to think of something before the man died.

**Fri. Oct. 26, 1987 Agency, Q-Bureau**

Over the past week her family had tried to come to grips with Lee's disappearance. With no word in the last week and a half from Lee it was hard not to think that he had been injured. She refused to think of him as dead, not until they had concrete evidence. She considered the losing battle with her stomach was now from nerves of Lee being missing.

Philip had become sullen and angry, but Jamie remained upbeat and positive that Lee would make it home. Dotty tried to put on a brave front for them all, but Amanda knew her mother grieved because she had thought of him as a son. Amanda knew in her heart that Lee was alive because she reasoned she would be able to tell otherwise.

It had been this past week when Philip had been roaming the woods that he had met their neighbor Mr. Lee. Her mother had met him earlier in the fall and seemed to think he was a charming man. Amanda of course was leery, but that came from being with Lee and the Agency all these years. She had taken the time to meet Mr. Lee and work a little Class C interrogation on him. He seemed harmless, so Amanda gave Philip her blessing of spending time with their neighbor.

The ringing phone pulled her from her musings and back to the present. She picked up the phone and answered with, "Q-Bureau, Amanda Stetson."

"Amanda, this is Billy. There are a few things I need to discuss with you. Can you come to my office as soon as possible?"

"Yes sir. I'll be right down."

She came to Billy's office and softly knocked on the door. She waited to hear, "come in," before opening the door. She went and sat in front of Billy's desk on the edge of her favorite chair.

Billy began, "Dr. Symth feels it's time for some change in the Q-Bureau." Billy paused to gage Amanda's reaction, which only consisted of an arched eye brow and a tilt of her head, so he continued, "He is appointing you head of the Q-Bureau."

"Me sir!" Amanda interjected.

"He feels you have proven yourself capable with the extensive research you have supplied recently. He was impressed with how well you handled yourself in the briefing at the White House.

Amanda sighed not sure if she was ready for this responsibility.

"Also with you being the head your clearance will be raised to an AO5-13 level and we are appointing McMillan and Douglas to your department. They will occupy the empty office next to the Q-Bureau which will make you the Senior Agent."

"I don't know anything about supervising anyone. Micah and James were in the same Freshman Candidate Class as I was; how will they feel about me being the Senior Agent?"

"Dr. Symth insists on you being the head because you have been at the Agency longer. To be honest he has been impressed with you since the Stemwinder incident. This is his decision and there is no changing it." Billy said with a smile.

"Okay, so what does being a supervisor mean?"

"Mainly Amanda you will be monitoring their cases and doing your extensive research which is normally how we break the cases."

"What about when Lee returns?"

"If Lee returns you both can run the Q-Bureau together."

"So I won't be in the field anymore? You're not going to give me a chance of working with someone else?" Amanda softly asked.

"That brings me to the other reason I needed to talk with you. The results of you blood work came back," Billy held the document out across the desk to her.

Amanda slowly took it and started perusing the contents. She stopped when something caught her attention and her eyes widened in surprise. She looked up at Billy and said in shock, "I'm pregnant! I thought it had just been nerves and stress. Now it all makes sense!" she thought out loud.

Billy cautiously replied, "I know this is not the ideal timing with Lee missing, but as I'm sure you know every child is a blessing."

Amanda smiled softly and said, "In a way sir, I'm glad to have this little one, who will be a reminder of the love Lee and I shared." Amanda suddenly felt guilty for speaking in the past tense because she was sure Lee was still alive and would make it home.

"Amanda you have had a lot to deal with these last couple of weeks. Go on home for the rest of the day!"

**Stetson Household **

The family had decided that it would be in everyone's best interest if Dotty moved back into the main house. Dotty was reading on the couch when Amanda came into the house and headed to her room. Dotty wondered if she should let her daughter be or go check on her. Before she could get up off the couch, Amanda returned dressed in a pair of black sweats and one of Lee's Virginia tee shirts.

Amanda didn't notice her mother sitting on the couch and headed to the kitchen. She picked up an apple, poured herself some milk, and headed out to the patio. For late October, it was a beautiful sunny day so she sat down in one of the lounge chairs. She was lost in thought trying to decide where to start looking for Lee when her mother joined her on the patio.

Dotty watched her daughter as different emotions played across her face, and then Amanda dropped her head into her hands and started to cry softly. Dotty moved to gather her daughter into her arms. Softly stroking her hair she lovingly asked, "Did you hear anything about Lee?"

Amanda wiped at her tears, "No, nothing new!"

"Do you want to share?"

Amanda looked at her mother and wondered how she would react, "I found out today that I'm pregnant."

At first Dotty was speechless and then she started chuckling.

Amanda with hurt in her voice replied, "I don't see what's funny about it!"

"Oh Amanda, I'm really sorry; but this suits you and Lee's relationship perfectly."

"I'm not sure if I agree," she said with a sniffle.

"Don't you see? The first time you tell the each other "I love you" is when you are running for your life from our government. He proposes marriage when you two are being held captive and you're not sure you will make it out alive. You get shot and almost die on your original honeymoon. So why not find out you're carrying his child while he's missing."

"Okay so crisis does seem to put a fire under our feet, but this one's too much to handle alone!"

"You're not alone! I'm her Amanda! I'll be her for you dear!"

"I know you will mother! I love you!"


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24**

**Fri. Nov. 1, 1987 Karlsruhe, West Germany**

Rachel was really concerned for her patient because he was burning up with fever and his breathing and cough had grown worse. Over the past two weeks she had used all her knowledge with herbs and roots, but she didn't have the knowledge on operations or clasped lungs.

Over the past two weeks, her patient had been sleeping fitfully while calling for Amanda, _Must be his wife's name_, she observed because of the wedding ring. She had taken to running her fingers through his thick hair and soothingly say, "shhhhh," to calm him which seemed to work. _He probably thinks I'm Amanda. I don't mind if it will help him, _she thought.

She had seen her dad going through the man's clothes and studying the objects he had found off and on for the last couple of weeks, but he never said a word to her about them. Now, she wondered what her father was up too because he had been gone for most of the day; not that her father rarely shared with her where he went, for he had told her many times that for her safety it was best she didn't know.

When her father returned he pulled the wagon up close to the door. She noticed that straw was spread into the back of it. He took blankets and spread them on top of the straw. Finally he spoke to his daughter, "I have met two men from Ramsteien Air Force Base. They have come with me to take him there."

"I'm going too!"

"No! It could be too dangerous!"

"He needs me, I'm going too!"

Levi sighed and knew that his stubborn daughter would not be persuaded, "Okay you can come."

The two men from Ramstein came and helped carry Lee out. The soldiers and Rachel climbed into the back of the wagon. Levi moved the wagon at as fast of a gait as he felt was safe for the injured man.

The soldiers had the farmer stop the wagon near their jeep, which was a little ways from Karlsruhe.

"Can we trust these men, Papa!" Rachel cautiously asked.

"They are American men like your patient," he referred to Lee as her patient because Levi hadn't told his daughter Lee's real name.

"How do we know they are not posing?" She asked again with concern.

"We have to trust. They have doctors who can help!"

"I'm going too!"

"No! I forbid it!"

"He needs me and I'm going too!" She said as she climbed into the jeep.

One of the soldiers replied, "It would be best if you didn't go."

Rachel turned her large, blue eyes to the soldier and earnestly pleaded, "I need to know what happens. Please, I'll stay out of the way!"

"Okay, let's go this man's in bad shape!"

Rachel called over her shoulder, "Don't worry Papa, I'll be okay and come home as soon as I can."

**Same Day Ramstein Air Force Base, West Germany**

Colonel Robert Clayton was sitting in his office looking over flight charts and maneuver formations when he heard a knock on the door, "Come in," he sharply called without even looking up.

Two soldiers came in and stood in front of his desk at attention. "Captain Davis and I have an urgent matter to discuss with you sir!"

The Colonel looked up at his two men and replied, "Yes!"

Captain Davis took over, "This morning a local farmer came to us with these items," which Captain Harris handed to the Colonel. "I ran the ISP and it is currant. He works for the Agency. His mission must have gone wrong."

Colonel Clayton slowly opened the ISP and the name, Lee Stetson, jumped out at him. The Colonel quickly stood up and asked, "Where is this man now?! Who knows he is here?!"

"Agent Stetson is in bad shape and is in surgery, sir. Dr. Emery is not sure he will make it. Besides us three and the doctor only the farmer and his daughter, who insisted on coming knows."

"Good! The less people who knows he's here the best. Let me know when he comes out of surgery. I want to talk with the doctor. You're dismissed!"

"Yes sir," both Captains replied and left the office.

Colonel Clayton sat back in his chair lost in thought, and not about flight charts or maneuvers, but about the man in surgery.

"What happened, Skip?" he muttered out loud. His thoughts slipped to three years earlier when he was being Court-martialed for the death of his squadron and Lee had helped clear him. _We promised to stay in touch more_, he thought with regret. He knew the two of them had more of a clandestine relationship where they kept up on each other's lives by reading their classified files.

He wondered what mission Lee was on now and what went wrong. _Did he have a partner with him?_ This thought caused the Colonel to quickly start trying to recall the files he had read about Lee. The name Mrs. King was in a lot of the files as his civilian partner. He smiled at the memory of making cookies with her in her home. _Would they have sent her with him this time? He hoped the Agency and Lee had better sense than to send a civilian_. He quickly rose and left his office.

He located Captain Davis talking with a young German girl, who he presumed was the farmer's daughter. He approached the two of them and addressed the young girl in German, "Did you find the American man?"

"Jah, we found him outside a deserted building on the out skirts of Karlsruhe."

"Was there a woman with him; a brunette with brown eyes, about five foot nine inches and a hundred twenty pounds?" Captain Davis suspiciously looked at his Colonel while the conversation was going on.

"No, there was no woman, only him. Over the last two weeks he's been calling the name, Amanda, but I have assumed she was his wife since he is wearing a wedding band."

The Captain watched curiously as the Colonel sighed, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath, "This man is not married. They must have been undercover as a married couple," he explained to the young girl. Turning to his officer he addressed, "Captain Davis, take this young girl to where they found Stetson and look for the woman. Maybe she is in a nearby house."

"Yes sir," the Captain snapped to attention and motioned for Rachel to follow him.

**Same Day Nedlinger's **

It had been a week since Amanda had found out that she was pregnant, but she hadn't shared the news with any of her co-workers. Francine had asked her to join a group of them for lunch. She had objected, but Francine insisted that Amanda needed out of the Q-Bureau. It almost seemed to Amanda that since Lee went missing Francine felt it was her duty to take care of her. So reluctantly she agreed to go.

It was as they were walking back to the Agency that someone caught her attention and she stopped short. She felt like her knees were going to buckle beneath her. As she grabbed onto a nearby street light to keep herself upright, she could hear Francine calling her name, "Amanda are you alright, you're white as a ghost!"

"Let's get back to the Agency, Francine!" She rasped out between gulps of air.

She quickly made her way to Billy's office with Francine closely following. She didn't even bother to knock as she burst into his office and blurted, "I just saw Birol!"

"What?" Both Billy and Francine said.

"Yes, when I was walking back from Nedlinger's."

"That's impossible, Amanda! I didn't see a thing and besides we've had a look out for him at all the major airports and no one has notified us," Francine practically said.

"I know whom I saw, Francine!" She snapped in frustration and turning to Billy added, "He probably came disguised!"

"True, but we've had the airports notified!"

"Sir, I know whom I saw!"

"Amanda, our minds are complicated things. Sometimes, it allows us to see things that are not…"

Amanda cut her boss off by saying, "I'm not hallucinating sir! I know whom I saw!" and she was out of the office letting the door slam behind her.

"She gets more and more like Scarecrow every day!" Billy said with a smirk and a sigh.

**Georgetown Preparatory School **

"James King?" Jamie heard a man in an overcoat and fedora hat ask.

"Yes…I'm Jamie King." Jamie cautiously replied while eyeing the man suspiciously, but then recognition started to seep in, "You're Mr. Aquanis from the Library of Congress. I remember you from class the other week," He excitedly added.

T.P. smiled and replied as he patted Jamie on the shoulder, "You are so much like your mother my boy." He added as he steered Jamie down the hall while draping his arm around the young boy's shoulders, "Let's walk a little."

"My mom, sir?"

"Ah yes, I have a message for your mom," T.P. replied as he fished the note from his coat pocket with his free hand. While holding it inconspicuously in his hand he added, "It is very important that your mother gets this right away. It's for her eyes only, but just act normal when I give it to you."

"Maybe you should give it to her!" Jamie nervously replied.

"No, they are watching out there, but they can't get into the school. You'll be okay as long as you give it to her when you get home.

"She works within walking distance maybe I could…" Jamie started to say.

T.P. quickly cut him off, "No! Do things as you normally would and everything will be okay! Now, I have a friend that will walk from here with me and that should lead my tail away from the school. Now, we need to part and I know you can do this Master King!" and T.P. quickly slipped the note to Jamie and left him standing in the hall. Jamie watched the older man recede down the corridor and out of sight.

**Ramstein Air Force Base **

"Colonel Clayton?" A voice called as a knock could be heard on the door.

"Yes, come in," Came the reply from within.

The door opened wider and an exhausted Dr. Emery stepped in, "I was told you wanted an update on the surgery."

"Ah yes, how did it go?"

"I'll be honest, I'm surprised he wasn't already dead. He might not make it. The next forty eight hours will be critical. He has a punctured lung and an infection from a bullet in his shoulder, a cut bone deep on his leg that is infected, and pneumonia on top of it! He's on an antibiotic and pain medicine. I also have him sedated"

"Not penicillin! He's allegoric to penicillin!"

"No it's macrolicles," Dr. Emery wondered how the Colonel knew this information.

"May I see him?"

"Certainly, I'll escort you there."

The Colonel was still by Lee's bed not hiding his concern when Captain Davis and Rachel returned, "We couldn't find any sign of a woman, Sir." The Colonel was so lost in his thoughts and memories that he didn't hear the Captain.

The Captain tried again and was still not answered so he pulled up a chair and sat next to his superior. While Rachel stood next to Lee's bed staring at his pale face, the Captain touched the Colonel on the arm. When the Colonel turned to look at Captain Davis he softly asked, "How is he sir?"

"Not too good!" The Colonel softly replied running his hand through his hair. The Colonel, who had taught Lee that men didn't show emotion, found a lump in his throat and tears threating in his eyes as he continued, not really sure why he was sharing this information, "He's my nephew, who I raised from the time he was five, when both his parents died. He's the only family I have…" he trailed off.

"I'm truly sorry, sir!"

"It's been three years since we've seen each other, and it had been three years before that. We told each other that it wouldn't be that long again, but where did the time go?"

"I suspect with your and his jobs, Sir, that it has been near impossible to…"

"I know you mean well, Captain, but we haven't had the best relationship and now there are so many things I wish I had done or said differently."

"Don't give up hope, Sir!"

Colonel Clayton suddenly remembered Amanda and asked, "Did you find the woman?"

"No Sir. There appears to be no woman here with him."

"Thank you, Captain. You are dismissed after you escort the young lady home."

"Sir, she insists on staying. She's been doctoring on him for over two weeks."

Colonel Clayton said to the Captain again, "Thank you. You are dismissed!" to the young girl he said in German, "Thank you for taking care of my nephew. You have kept him alive."

"You are welcome," she said as she sat next to the Colonel. After a few minutes of silence, Rachel asked, "What is your nephew's name?"

"Lee…Lee Stetson," the Colonel said with a mixture of love, pride, and admiration in his voice. He then continued, "Would you like to hear some stories?" and the rest of the night was passed with Colonel Clayton telling story after story of his nephew.

**Stetson Household**

Although the note had been burning a hole in his pocket, Jamie did exactly as he was told and kept his schedule the same; but once he was home he sought out his mother right away. Handing her the note he quickly explained, "Mr. Aquanis gave this too me with instructions to give it to you only!"

Amanda took it suspiciously and with concern asked, "T.P. Aquanis?"

"Yes, he works at the Library Congress and he spoke in my history class. Is he one of Lee's contacts because Lee met with him at the ice cream shop once?"

While Dotty gasped in concern, Amanda sighed and replied, "Yes he is, sweetheart." And she continued, "But, I don't understand why he would give it to you?"

"He said because he was being watched and they wouldn't suspect me."

The color drained from Amanda's face with the thought of the risk Jamie had been placed in. "It's okay mom. If it's something about Lee it was worth it. Now open it up!"

Dotty and Philip moved in closer and echoed Jamie's demand of reading it.

Amanda opened the envelope and started reading out loud:

The Wicked Witch went West

Scarecrow has lost some Straw

Looking for Wizard to get back to Kansas.

"It makes absolutely no sense," Dotty exclaimed in exasperation and continued, "Who would send such a message? If they think it's a joke…I don't find it the least bit funny!"

Amanda was lost in thought and finally exclaimed, "It's from Lee! I know it's from Lee!"

"Now Amanda, what makes you think…"

Amanda cut her mother off by starting to excitedly explain, "The wicked witch is Birol, went west means he's coming here, and I know I saw him today. Scarecrow has lost some straw means Lee's been hurt; Oh I hope it's not bad. He doesn't like hospitals…"

"What does that last part mean?" Dotty interjected extremely curios how her daughter was figuring out the message.

"That Lee's looking for a way home. If he's looking then he can't be that hurt!" Turning to Jamie, she excitedly said as she gave him a hug, "Oh thank you, Sweetheart, you did an excellent job. I need to get this to Mr. Melrose!" And with that said Amanda took off for the Agency.

**Agency, Billy's Office **

When Amanda had gotten back to the Agency, Billy had already left for the weekend so Francine called him at home telling him Amanda had a message from Lee. When Billy arrived he found Amanda pacing back and forth in his office like Lee was known to do. She started explaining her suspicions again, "Don't you see, Sir, this confirms that I saw Birol today! Lee's hurt over there somewhere. We need to check the hospitals and any of his contacts that might be able to get him home."

Billy sighed again, "I can understand how you feel Amanda, but this isn't even written in our established code. The only thing we have to go on is the name Scarecrow and even that in the middle of the other most likely is a coincident."

"Besides Amanda, we've told you that we don't even know any of Lee's contacts in Europe. It would be a needle in a haystack to go that route," Francine tried to practically point out.

Amanda looked from one of her and Lee's supposedly friends to the other. Snatching up the note, she bit out as she went to the door, "Sorry, Sir, Francine, to bother you so late on a Friday night," and she let the door slam behind her.

Billy looked at Francine and replied, "We need to keep an eye on her!"


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter 25**

**Fri. Nov. 15, 1987 Stetson Household**

Amanda had spent every free moment of the last two weeks searching airline surveillance pictures from every major airline. She knew Birol was in the area because she had spotted him a couple of other times. It was like he was toying with her. She had refreshed the instructions Lee had given the boys about the security alarm on the house. She lovingly reminded them that Lee would want them extra safe while he was away.

She had searched all through the Q-Bureau to see if Lee had hidden a European contact list there. She got in touch with all of Lee's contacts in DC to see if they knew any of his contacts in Germany, unfortunately they didn't. She had searched the Agency's database in hopes that Lee had hidden it in a file. So far she had come up with nothing. That's what had her home today. She had taken the day off to search their home office for anything that could give her a lead.

As she had been searching surveillance pictures and for a contact list, she had also been searching for Lee. She had found out that Lee had flown to McGraw Kaserne Military Base. She had talked with Major Spiels who last saw him on October 10th when he headed out on a convoy to Mannhiem, but he didn't know where her husband had gotten off at and the lead ended there.

For the past two weeks, Jamie had ridden the high of being courier of Lee's message. He had also thrown himself extra into his photography class and club. Senator Holcom's daughter, Desiree, and Jamie both shared the love of photography; they had started spending their after school time together working on some project. Jamie had told the family that the project would be a surprise; and they would find out on Wednesday November 20th when their school held the annual Fall Showcase.

Amanda thought back to last week when Philip had come home from school in more of a bad mood than normal. He had thrown his book bag on the table and stormed out to sit on the back patio. Amanda had started to go after him, but her mother had cautioned to let him have sometime alone. After a half an hour, Amanda had made some hot chocolate with marshmallows and went out to see her oldest. He readily accepted her offering of the hot drink and after a few minutes Amanda started talking, "I remember it was your tenth birthday and you had asked for a Captain Galaxy action figure. Well as your Grandmother and I was shopping she found a book that I liked as a little girl about horses and since you liked horses she got it for you, but unknowingly the shop keeper gave her a different book that these bad men wanted. The bad men broke into the house looking for it, but couldn't find it. I called Lee and he came, but couldn't find anything so he asked to take your presents back to the Agency. As they were searching through your gifts the Captain Galaxy action figure got broken, I was really upset because you really wanted it and it was the last one we could find."

"But, I got that figure for my birthday," Philip interjected.

Amanda smiled softly, "Lee showed up while your party was going on to bring it."

"How did he get it?" Philip asked out of curiosity.

"Oh, he found out where the toy was made and had it sent to a Naval Air Station in Guam and an Airforce transport brought it to Bulling Airforce Base," Amanda chuckled.

"Lee did that for me?"

"He sure did, and remember the time Pretzel the clown couldn't come for Jamie's party, but he finally showed up.

"Yeah," Philip said with a hint of anticipation in his voice.

"Well, Lee was able to get him to come for Jamie's party by threatening to get his IRS friend to audit Pretzel," Amanda chuckled again.

Philip actually laughed, "You know I could see Lee doing that!" Then he somberly asked, "How can you love someone and be so scared for them, but mad at them at the same time?"

Amanda moved next to her son and took him in her arms, "You pretty mad at Lee?"

"Yeah, he's just like dad!"

"How's that?" Amanda asked trying not to get defensive.

"He leaves us to go help around the world, except this is worse because he's missing!"

"Philip I know you hurt, but trust me when I tell you that Lee didn't want to leave us. Leaving was the hardest thing for him, but he didn't have a choice. Unlike your father, Lee was ordered and in our jobs you can't ignore orders. I know it's hard right now, but I know Lee and he will figure out a way to get home!"

Philip looked at his mom for a few moments and then asked in a small voice, "You really think Lee's going to come home?"

"Yes Sweetheart, I really believe that!"

"I hope so because I miss him so much it hurts!"

"I know! I know!" is all Amanda could reply as they cried together.

Amanda thought that their talk had helped even though Philip still had bad days. He had taken to going to Mr. Lee's a lot. He insisted that he needed to check on Ginger every day to see if she had had her puppies. It seemed to be a highlight of his day so Amanda just couldn't say no!

Amanda thought that her mother and Curt were getting closer, and wondered if she would get remarried. Curt had been a big help to them all with Lee gone. He even planned on going with her mother to Aunt Edna's for Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving! It seemed hard to believe it was that time of year again. This year for Thanksgiving the boys would be with their father at his parent's house in Pennsylvania. He had asked her to go with them, but she had graciously declined for in her mind it just didn't seem right.

Even though she was still sick and throwing up, Amanda hadn't told the boys about the baby. She knew she would have to soon because the waist line of her clothes were getting tight, which she took as a good sign that the baby was alright, even though she couldn't keep much down.

Amanda decided she had had enough of walking down memory lane for now and got up from the table. She rinsed her bowl out, put it in the dishwasher, and headed down the hall to their office. She unlocked the door and swung it open. She hadn't been in the office since Lee had left, and she wasn't prepared for the feelings that hit her for this room, more than any other room, was a reflection of Lee Stetson. The faint smell of his cologne still hung in the room. His ram's head horns adorned the shelf along with a collection of old books. His roll top desk set against a wall with papers strewed all over the top. Against the opposite wall sat a table with a 1930's German clock on top of it. Next to it, she noticed was his mother's diary. Against another wall sat a 1930s radio on a table. One picture stood out in particular on the wall, the one Emily had sketched of the two of them, but she hadn't known that he had gotten it framed. She went over to look at it again. She was intently searching for the letters in her and Lee's names, which Emily had hidden in the drawing; that she didn't hear her mother come in.

"There's a young man at the door for you," Dotty said causing Amanda to jump. "I'm sorry dear. I didn't mean to startle you." Her mother apologized.

Amanda took a deep breath and replied, "It's okay. Did he say who he was?"

"Sounded like a last name….McMillan."

"Oh, okay," she replied and headed down the hall with Dotty close behind her.

"Micah! What can I do for you?"

"First of all, Mrs. Stetson, I have those photos pulled for October 17th from Dulles you wanted," he replied as he handed the manila envelope to her, "Secondly, Douglas and I want to stakeout the bookstore on 22nd street."

Amanda arched her eyebrow and asked curiously, "The bookstore?"

"Remember we were telling you our suspicions about those Russian dancers which are being smuggled in, who in turn we think are really spies?" Micah was explaining and Dotty was listening with adept attention. He continued, "Douglas got a tip that another dancer would be arriving today and if we could get close enough we could get a tracker on her to see if she can lead us to the rest."

Amanda thought for a moment and consented, "Okay, see what you can find out, but just remember to be inconspicuous. We don't want to tip them off."

"Yes, ma'am! I have a plan thought through," he said excitedly and was out the door.

"Amanda, why did he ask you for permission?"

"Because I sort of got a promotion," she brushed her mother's question off, "I need to get to work!"

"A promotion! That's wonderful dear, but I thought you took the day off?"

"I did, but to concentrate on looking for Lee!" Amanda explained as she receded back to the office.

"I wonder how she's going to look for Lee," Dotty muttered. She decided that maybe she could sneak back down to the office and do a little stakeout of her own.

**Fri. Nov. 15, 1987 Ramstein Air Force Base, West Germany**

Lee had been unconscious for the last two weeks because of the medication the doctor was giving him. " With the extensiveness of his injures," Dr. Emery explained, "He needs to be as still as possible." The Colonel had talked Rachel into going home with the promise of getting her when Lee woke. The Colonel had taken to coming every day to sit and talk to his nephew. He told Lee about all the regrets and things he should have done different while raising him. Colonel Clayton couldn't believe the things he shared, but it was easier to share your feelings when a person couldn't really hear you.

Today, Dr. Emery had decided to start weaning Lee off of some of the medication. Colonel Clayton decided to come so he could be with his nephew when he woke. Dr. Emery cautioned that it could possibly be a while before he came out of the coma.

Hours passed with no difference in Lee, when Colonel Clayton noticed his hand moved slightly. He thought that his mind was playing tricks, but then he saw the hand twitch again, but then Lee went stil. Colonel Clayton upped his talking in the hopes it would help his nephew come out of his coma, but he ended up going to bed disappointed that Lee hadn't come to. He left instructions to get him if there was a change in the night.

**Same Day Stetson Household**

Amanda had made her way back to the office and threw the envelope on Lee's desk. She sat down in his chair and rested her chin in her hand while her elbow rested on her knee. She was so deep in thought that she didn't realize her mother was peeping in the hall.

Balling up her left hand into a fist she hit it into the palm of her right hand and muttered, "Okay, I've checked all over the Q-Bureau and through the Agency's databases without any luck. Where would you have hidden that list?" _If he even made a list,_ she thought to herself. "Of course he has a list, since he has the Barnstorm list for the states, I'm sure he has one for Europe!" she said a little more loudly and with confidence. She started eyeing the office again. She got up and looked into the ram's horns, but sighed when it came up with nothing. She started pulling back all the old books, but no secret compartment opened. She stopped, squinted her eyes, and then spied the clock, "Of course!" she exclaimed.

She went over to the clock and picked it up to examine it. Closely inspecting it she saw that two keys where needed to wind the clockworks. She searched underneath the table for the keys, but didn't find them. She slowly stood up and looked around the room again. As her eye fell on Emily's sketch, she tilted her head and wondered aloud, "at this angle does it look like two raised areas in the picture?" She walked over and took the picture off the wall and laid it face down on the desk. She quickly removed the back of the frame and found two keys taped to the back of the sketch. She carefully removed them and went back to the clock to insert them. Turning one key clockwise and the other key counterclockwise a secret compartment opened to reveal a slip of paper. She extracted the paper and opened it to find the numbers 3-15-25. "A combination. Now where would you have a safe?" She muttered again as she stuck the paper into her pocket.

Dotty was watching her daughter in amazement. She was so excited about what she was observing that she wanted to go in and dance around, but she knew that Amanda would scold and besides she didn't want to break her daughter's concentration.

Amanda looked around the room again and her eye fell on the 1930s upright radio. She walked over to the radio and tried to lift it, but it wouldn't budge. "It's heavy enough to be a safe," she said. She slowly studied the radio and noticed the back didn't look quite right. She quickly went back to the desk and got the letter opener. Going back to the radio she started prying at the seam and after a few minutes she was able to get the opener in it. She worked at prying all around the seam until it finally popped loose. Amanda stopped a moment to catch her breath and to look at the safe in front of her. Pulling the paper from her pocket she used the combination to open it. Inside was a stack of things so she pulled them all out and took them to the desk. Before she sat the contents from the safe on the desk she quickly pushed the current papers to the floor. She started sorting through the stack. Finally, she found what she was after, a list of German names. "Glad you made this easy on me, Stetson!" she muttered and sighed as she sat back in the chair to look over the list. "Now, who do I start with first on this list," She wondered out loud.

Picking up the phone, she dialed a familiar number and waited for an answer on the other end. She quickly said into the phone, "T.P. this is Amanda. We need to meet. Is there any place safe?" Hearing this made Dotty shudder and a moment later she heard Amanda continue, "You could come here." She paused and replied, "Okay, see you in about thirty minutes." She hung up the phone, got up from the desk, and hurried from the room to put water on for tea. It was as she rushed from the room that she tripped over her mother in the hall.

"Mother, what are you doing?!" Amanda asked in amusement.

Dotty, feeling like a little girl who had gotten caught with her hand in the cookie jar by her mother, replied, "Oh nothing dear, I thought I dropped my earring." She paused as if she had found something and continued as she held up the imaginary lost object, "Oh, look there it is!"

Amanda knowing differently chuckled and held out her hand to help her mother up.

Almost a half an hour later, the doorbell rang and Dotty said, "I'll get it," and headed to the door before Amanda could stop her. Amanda followed closely behind and was in the foyer when her mother opened the door and said, "Hello, you must be here for Amanda!"

"Yes ma'am, I am," T.P. replied. When he saw Amanda standing behind her mother he said, "Hello Mrs. King," he shook his head, "I mean Mrs. Stetson!"

"Hello T.P., come on in."

"Mother, I would like you to meet T. Percival Aquanis, T.P. I would like you to meet my mother, Dotty West."

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. West," T.P. replied by taking Dotty's hand and giving the back of it a kiss.

Dotty laughed and smiled, "You can call me Dotty, Mr. Aquanis."

"T.P. is fine with me," he returned the invitation. Turning his attention to Amanda he asked, "Now my dear, what can I do for you?"

"It's down in the office, but I've brewed some tea if you would care for some."

"Tea sounds lovely."

"I'll get it for you dear and bring it to the office," Dotty interjected.

"Oh, thank you mother," Amanda acknowledged. She took T.P. by the arm and replied, "It's down the hall here."

Dotty met them in the office as T.P. exclaimed, "This is brilliant Amanda!" as he took in the disarray of the room. He went and picked up the clock, this is an original Gustav Becker made in the 1930s. It was made especially to hide information from the Nazis. So let's see you found the keys in the frame, opened the clock and found the combination for the safe which was hidden in the radio. It does my heart good to see when a pupil applies what they are taught. You should be commended also my dear for figuring it out!"

Amanda smiled with pleasure, but her mother was about to burst with pride.

"I found this list of German names and I was hoping they were Lee's contacts, but I didn't really know where to start," Amanda explained handing the sheet to T.P. "I was hoping you would have a suggestion," She continued.

T.P. perused the list for a few moments and finally replied, "I know of a couple of these people, but I would recommend Father Hirsch. I really think that's where Scarecrow's note came through."

"The Agency doesn't think it is from Lee," Amanda said dejectedly.

"Doesn't surprise me if it wasn't in an established code, but I think it was brilliantly written for you. Birol's here you know."

"I know I've spotted him a couple of times. I think he's playing with me."

This made Dotty shudder again. As she poured T.P. some tea she thought, _maybe Curt is right about not wanting to know so much_. Amanda was still talking, "The Agency doesn't believe me because of my past history and that there has been no evidence of him coming through the airports."

T.P. snorted and let out a huge puff of air as Amanda continued, "I've been searching surveillance pictures, but I've found nothing yet. I just got a new batch, but I haven't had a chance to look at them."

"I say we plan a message back to Lee and then look at these pictures," T.P. replied as he took a sip of tea and sat down at the desk.

"Sounds like an excellent plan," Amanda agreed as she pulled a chair up next to T.P.'s and got a cup of tea for herself.

Dotty got her own cup of tea and took a seat on the couch thoroughly enjoying watching her daughter work.

Three hours later, Amanda looked at yet another surveillance picture through her magnifying glass when she thought a face looked familiar. She put that glass down and picked up the lumiloupe to get a better look. When she saw the magnified face she let out a gasp.

Amanda's gasp resonated through the quiet room and roused T.P. and Dotty's attention, "Did you find something?" he questioned.

"Look at the face of this woman," Amanda instructed.

T.P. looked closely and turned to Amanda, "It's him alright," he shook his head in disbelief, "he came disguised as a woman!" he incredulously replied.

"Hopefully they'll listen to me now! Interesting he came through a month ago and he hasn't made an act. What do you think he's up too?"

"Does he know what happened to Scarecrow? It's like he knows he has time and if Lee was still on his tail…Sorry, Amanda, I don't mean to add to your worry."

"It's okay, I was thinking the same," Amanda patted her friend on the arm and continued, "I wonder how much time we have?"

"Probably not much since he's been here a month, I'm sure he's a ticking time bomb."

Dotty suddenly felt cold to the bone!

**Sun. Nov. 17, 1987 Ramstein Air Force Base**

Colonel Clayton was again setting by his nephew's bed. He had his hands clasped looking down at his feet wondering for the thousandth time since they had brought Lee in, what had gone wrong? _Maybe I should contact the Agency! _He thought. _No, I still think it's best for his safety for not many people to know where he is. When we are on our way back to the States then I'll call the Agency,_ he thought determinedly.

It was while Robert Clayton was having this inward battle with himself that he heard a moan from the bed. He quickly looked up to see Lee starting to arouse. Lee moaned and was trying to mouth something, but couldn't around the breathing tube.

"Skip, it's the Colonel," he replied as he reached out to touch Lee's arm.

Lee's eyes fluttered open, but quickly shut against the light as he tried again to mouth something.

"Don't try and talk, Son!" Colonel Clayton stopped short and for the first time as tears formed in his eyes he truly felt this man lying in the bed before him was his son!"

Lee slowly opened his eyes and tried to focus on the person in front of him, but he thought his eyes were playing tricks; he tried mouthing, "Colonel," and closed his eyes again.

"Let me get the doctor. I'll be right back," he said as he went to find Dr. Emery.

Dr. Emery came right away to look at Lee. He checked his eyes, pulse, and the breathing tube. "His eyes look good, his pulse is rapid but understandable. The tube looks good and the pneumonia is slightly better."

Lee started to frantically pull the tube out. He wanted some information and he couldn't' get it he reasoned with this thing in.

"No! No! You can't take that out!" the doctor replied and grabbed Lee's hands. With the little bit of strength he had left Lee tried to fight the doctor. Dr. Emery tried to explain," You need this tube to breath. It's for your own good!"

Lee with all his energy spent from fighting the doctor clasped back onto the bed unconscious.

After a moment, Dr. Emery finally let go of Lee's arms. Turning to the Colonel he explained, "He can't pull that tube out. Are you going to be here? Because if you're not we need to restrain him."

"I'll stay," the Colonel replied as he looked down on the man in front of him. This man in the bed was a shell of the man, Lee Stetson, once was for his injures and sickness had made him so weak.

"Good! He's a fighter! That'll help him too! Call me if he wakes up again," and Dr. Emery left the Colonel alone with Lee.

A few hours later, Lee started to arouse again and this time Colonel Clayton took hold of his nephew's hands and started speaking, "Son," he stopped as emotion caught in his throat from that one little word. He started again, "Son, it's me the Colonel. You're hurt very badly and in the hospital. You have a breathing tube in so you won't be able to talk."

Lee slowly opened his eyes focusing more clearly this time. He took in the concerned look of his uncle and he started glancing around the room. He tried mouthing, "Amanda."

"I'm sorry, Son, I can't understand."

Lee started to get agitated again and the Colonel tried to calm him, "Give it some time. Right now you just need to rest. Close your eyes and go back to sleep. I'll be here when you wake up."

Lee did feel sleepy and maybe if he closed his eyes for a while he would wake up from this nightmare and be home with Amanda. With thoughts of Amanda he drifted off to sleep.


	26. Chapter 26

**Chapter 26**

**Mon. Nov. 18, 1987 Emilio's**

Dotty had wanted Amanda to meet her and Curt for lunch because she thought her daughter needed a break. Amanda had worked all weekend long on trying to locate Lee and this Birol guy. Dotty shuddered thinking about how awful that man must be and what he had done to Amanda, but Dotty tried not to think about what had happened to her baby girl. She knew for one thing that Amanda was strong and brave.

Amanda finally made it ten minutes late exclaiming, "I'm really sorry something came up at the last minute."

"It's okay dear, we understand," Dotty replied and she actually did understand her daughter's crazy schedule after all these years.

"I think I'll just have a salad. It's probably all I'll be able to keep down anyways."

"Don't you think you should see a doctor, Amanda? You don't even know how far along you are."

"When things settle down, I'll make an appointment. I'm thinking of telling the boys this weekend. I'll probably have to tell at work also because I'm starting to show."

"All the stress you're under too probably doesn't help your stomach either," Curt gave her a sympathetic smile. He liked Amanda and he had told Dotty that Amanda was a strong and dedicated woman. She was someone he would be proud to say was his daughter.

Amanda's reply was a soft smile.

Dotty couldn't resist asking, "So Amanda did you show your picture to Billy?"

"Mother!"

"Now before you go on Amanda, remember you are not officially supposed to be looking for him!" Dotty practically explained.

"There have been lots of times Lee and I didn't officially do a job either, but I still can't talk about them!"

"Okay, Okay! Forget I asked!" Dotty huffed.

"Besides, Mr. Melrose has been in Congressional hearings all morning, but I have an appointment…" Amanda stopped short and her eyes widened. Dotty and Curt turned to see if they could make out what she saw. "Birol!" Amanda said. She looked at her mother, "It's Birol!" and she took off after him.

"Amanda!" Dotty called and followed her daughter with Curt bringing up the rear.

Dotty found Amanda standing on the side walk just outside the backdoor, "Amanda!" She said putting a hand on her daughter's arm.

"It's Birol, Mother! I need to go check on a couple of people." And with that she left her mother and Curt standing on the walk looking after her.

Amanda felt that since Lee was away his "family" was her responsibility. She got to thinking of Mira and Magda's safety. Mira had been one of Birol's Lieutenants and lover, but she had also been Lee's inside source. Magda had deceived Birol in making a deal for her to be sold to the Libyan's. It was Magda that aided in the capture of Birol and the rescue of her and Lee.

She arrived at Magda's Boutique and found the door locked. She went next door to see if the owner knew about Magda. Going in she asked, "Excuse me miss, but I was going to the boutique next door, but it's locked. There's no sign saying it's closed and it looks like the lights are on. Do you know anything?"

"Magda told me she was going on vacation and that her sister would be manning the store. But, now that you mention it I haven't seen her come in today. I don't have anyone here and I have a key so we can go have a look."

Amanda and the store clerk walked back to Magda's store. She unlocked the door and when they walked in Amanda got an eerie feeling so she called out, "Mira?" but there was no answer.

Amanda pulled her gun from her purse and told the clerk to stay there. She slowly made her way through the store and cautiously parted the curtain to the backroom. What she saw on the floor made her want to lose the contents of her stomach. She dropped her gun to her side and returned to the front area, picked up the phone, and dialed the Agency. After a few minutes, she said into the receiver, "Francine, it's Amanda. You need to send someone over to Magda's Boutique, Mira's been murdered!"

**Same Day Agency, Conference Room**

"Where is King?" Dr. Symth asked Billy Melrose in a huff.

"I don't know! If you remember I've been in the same meetings you have all day!" Billy gruffly replied back.

"I thought she was benched since she has a bun in the oven," Dr. Symth snidely remarked.

"She is, but she's becoming more and more like Scarecrow every day!" Billy said in exasperation.

"Gentlemen, we have waited a half an hour. We need to get this briefing going so I can report back to the President in…" the Chief Security Council Officer stopped to look at his watch, "an hour and with traffic…"

"Okay! Okay! We're coming!" Dr. Symth cut him off while waving the man back into the room. To Billy he said, "Well William, what do you suggest we do? King has the information for this meeting!"

"I don't know," he sighed, "Hopefully we can think of something!" He replied as he held the door open for Dr. Symth to go in before him.

Fifteen minutes into the meeting Amanda burst into the room and apologized, "I'm sorry; Sirs, but I just got some information."

"This better be good, King!" Dr. Symth eyed her suspiciously.

"Oh I think it is! I saw Birol at Emilo's."

"Amanda!" Billy replied in frustration.

"Hear me out Sir," she stated as she pulled the surveillance picture and the lumiloupe from her purse and handed them to Billy, "Take a look at the face on the lady."

Billy studied the picture a moment and then handed the items to Dr. Symth who studied the picture, "When was this taken?" Dr. Symth questioned as he handed the items to the Chief Security Council Officer.

"A month ago Sir."

"A month! If this is Birol then, what's he been doing?"

"You mean to tell me Birol is in the country and he came in disguised as a woman?" the Chief Security Council Officer asked in disbelief, as he looked at the picture again, "Can we be sure it's him?"

"It's him Sir! I've seen him off and on this last month and I saw him today at lunch."

"No offense Mrs. Stetson," the Chief Security Council Officer chuckled in skepticism, "But, am I supposed to take the word of someone who is under," here he paused for affect and added incredulously , "psychological evaluation!"

This was like a slap to Amanda's face and she said in a hard voice, "That was a month ago that I saw Dr. Quidd and he has cleared me since for the field." She turned to Billy and went on to explain, "Like I said I saw Birol at lunch and then he vanished. I got to thinking that Lee's "family" is now my responsibility so I went to check on Magda and Mira."

"What do these people have to do with Birol? I need to get back to the White House!"

Amanda ignored the White House Aide and continued, "Thankfully for Magda she was away on vacation, but Mira's dead Sir!"

Billy leaned back in his chair and Dr. Symth closed his eyes.

"I don't see what difference it makes…"

Amanda, who had been standing the whole time, cut the man off when she leaned over the table, slapped her hands on the top of it, and bit out through clenched teeth, "Mira was one of Birol's Lieutenants, Sir, but she was also my husband's inside source, Nightcrawler! Birol would definitely seek revenge!"

"Let me see that picture again!" Billy barked.

While he was looking at the picture, Francine came into the room, "Billy, the MO used in Mira's death matches Birol's, and get this he's left his finger prints all over the store!"

There was an explosion in the room as everyone started talking at once trying to make plans for Birol's capture.

**Wed. Nov. 20, 1987 Georgetown Preparatory School**

Dotty was concerned for Amanda because she had been working around the clock since she'd left them at the restaurant two days ago. When she did see Amanda, Dotty thought her daughter didn't look well and she had tried to get her to slow down, if for nothing else the baby's sake. She had promised to be here tonight, but Dotty had her doubts.

Dotty and Curt where looking through the displays when she heard, "Oh good, I found you! I didn't expect this many people here!"

Dotty turned around and gave her daughter a fierce hug, "Amanda! You made it! You look so tired!"

"Mother, I'm fine really! Have you seen Jamie's display?"

"No, we weren't sure where to look."

"Mom! Grandma! Curt!" they could hear Jamie calling, so they turned and waded through the sea of meandering people to make their way toward Jamie.

"It's over here!" Jamie motioned.

When Amanda walked up to the table, she sucked in a breath of air and worked at holding back the tears which threatened. In front of her was a wall mounting entitled, "Clandestine Moments". There was a picture of Lee and Philip working together on his geography project. Another one of Lee and Dotty laughing over something and the smile Lee wore showed off his dimples. There was another one of Lee and Jamie looking at pictures which Jamie had taken. Amanda wasn't sure how her son had taken the picture of Lee and himself, but she was glad he had it to remember his stepfather. There was a picture of Amanda and Dotty, which looked as if they were bantering with each other while playing scrabble, _she was trying to use a made up word again,_ Amanda chuckled to herself. Lee was in the background of the picture with a magazine, but instead of reading he could be seen nonchalantly looking over the top wearing an amused smile. There was a picture of her and Lee, which had been captured after one of their arguments; she closed her eyes remembering the scene. Opening her eyes again, she looked closer at the picture and saw that it perfectly captured their looks of frustration, love, and acceptance. For her the most poignant picture was of them going to the Jewelry Show. Lee was fastening the necklace around her neck. He was behind her looking down into her face as she had her head tilted up looking at him. The picture captured hazel eyes locked on chocolate brown eyes, which seemed to emanate that there was no one else in the world at the moment, but the two of them.

Amanda brought her hand to her mouth and tried swallowing the lump in her throat as the tears softly fell. Curt couldn't help but to put a protective arm around her.

"Do you like it Mom? I thought the title was fitting, you know!" he excitedly said, but when he looked at his mom and saw her tears he quickly added, "I'm sorry; I didn't mean to make you cry!"

Amanda gave her son a hug and quickly replied to sooth his fears, "These are tears of happiness, Jamie! They're…"she stopped to swallow and started again, "They're all so wonderful and captured the moments we shared beautifully. I'm very proud and I know Lee will be too!"

Philip came up to the group, "Mom, come and see my display!"

Amanda looked at her oldest, tilted her head, and said, "I didn't know you were going to put anything in it."

"Our history class puts their geography projects on display and I wanted to keep it a surprise!" Philip proudly explained.

"Okay, show the way!" Amanda replied with a smile as she put her arm around her son's shoulder.

The group arrived at Philip's Russia display and Amanda smiled in pride for her son.

Spread on the table was a typical Russian head scarf with the Russian nesting dolls, which was labeled Matryoshka doll, set out in a row. Also displayed on the table were a few painted boxes with the landscape of Russia on them and a black fur cap labeled Ushanka. Philip had drawn, colored, and labeled a map of Russia on poster board and had attached around the map various pictures Lee had taken, while he had been stationed in Russia, of Moscow. Amanda smiled to herself in surprise and thought; _I never would have thought Lee would have had these types of souvenirs._ Amanda picked up her son's report and read through it and when she came to the back she exclaimed, "An A, Philip! I'm so proud of you; you put a lot of work into this! Lee is going to very proud too!"

Philip beamed proudly, "I definitely couldn't have done it without him! Maybe I'll visit someday!"

At the end of the show Curt asked, "Anyone want ice cream; I'm buying!" and he was met with a chorus of yeses which echoed around him.

**Same Day Stetson Household**

After ice cream Dotty had told Curt that since it was late she would just ride home with Amanda and the boys. When they arrived home the security light was out and Dotty stated, "It feels creepy with the light off!"

"I'll see if I can get someone to put a new bulb in tomorrow."

"It's a good thing we didn't have to bring our projects home tonight," Philip added.

The four of them walked up the front steps and were standing outside the door, while Amanda fished for her keys in her purse. Finally, Amanda found her keys and opened the door, but when she went to unarm the alarm she saw that it had never been set. Pulling her gun from her purse she said, "Everyone hold on the alarm wasn't set!"

"Oh man! I was supposed to set it on my way out, but I was too excited and forgot!" Philip apologized.

"Oh for pete's sakes, Amanda, this is our home!" Dotty expressed as she pushed by her daughter and stepped into the foyer. She continued on into the living room to turn on the light, but when Dotty flipped the switch she was met with an arm wrapped around her neck.

"Amanda!" Dotty, whose eyes were wide in fear, said as loud as the arm around her wind pipe would allow.

"Boys, run now!" Amanda yelled behind her and her boys obeyed immediately. To Birol she said as she held her gun trained on him, "Let her go! It's me you want!"

"Not so fast, I told Scarecrow that since you and I had so much fun last time that maybe we would play again."

Amanda didn't reply, but kept inching closer as Birol led her mother into the kitchen.

"Scarecrow and I had a fun time. He left me with a souvenir in my arm and a graze on my leg, but…" Birol laughed menacingly, "Scarecrow won't be coming home!"

While Birol held Dotty captive, the boys had obeyed their mom and ran next door to their neighbor, Mr. Lee. Even though it was ten o'clock at night they banged on his front door until the porch light came on.

Philip started yelling, "Mr. Lee it's me, Philip King, please open up!"

Mr. Lee opened the front door quickly upon hearing a frantic Philip and exclaimed, "Come in boys! What's going on?"

"I need to use your phone!" Jamie anxiously replied.

"It's over here," Mr. Lee handed Jamie the phone.

While Philip told Mr. Lee about coming home to an intruder, Jamie dialed the number to IFF. When the operator answered Jamie tried to calmly talk, but he excitedly blurted out, "I need to talk with Mr. Melrose!"

"Who's calling?"

"Jamie King, I'm Amanda Stetson's son!"

"Okay, just a moment."

A long minute passed for Jamie until he heard the other phone line pick up, "Melrose here!"

"Sir, this is Jamie King and that guy," he tried to calmly relay his message, but he then excitedly blurted, "my mom's been looking for is at our house!"

"What!?" Billy Melrose yelled and he could be heard clearly through the room, which caused Philip and Mr. Lee to stop talking and look Jamie's way.

Jamie emotionally continued, "That guy has my grandma and mom has her gun on him! I'm scared!" Mr. Lee hearing this went to get his shot gun while Jamie kept explaining, "She told Philip and me to leave and we came to our neighbor's house."

"You did the right thing! Stay where you are! I'm on my way!" Billy explained and hung up the phone.

Jamie hung up and turned to see Mr. Lee heading out the door.Jamie and Philip hurried after him yelling for him to stop.

"I don't take kindly to people breaking into homes and taking them captive!" an irate Mr. Lee said.

Philip took him by the arm and insistently pleaded, "Please don't go. Jamie called the authorities. This man is very bad and is the reason our stepdad is missing. Our mom can handle this until other agents to get here!"

Mr. Lee reluctantly listened to Philip and consented, "Okay, even though I don't like the idea of leaving women alone with a criminal, we'll wait."

Birol was trying to distract Amanda by talking about Lee, but she was so focused on saving her mother that she ignored his taunts. As he was talking, Dotty felt the jolt of Birol bumping against the island in the kitchen. As Dotty tried to work him sideways, Amanda followed her mother's movement which caused Birol to turn in her direction. Dotty was able to spy the knife holder sitting on the island and thought that she could reach it. Amanda noticing what her mother was trying to do; worked on distracting Birol by hissing, "Lee's coming back! I know it!"

Birol laughed hard, "I'm so sorry, but there is no Scarecrow to try and save…" and he was cut off as Dotty grabbed a knife and thrusted it into his leg. He immediately let go of Dotty, who ran out of the way, as he screamed and tried to remove the knife.

Once Amanda saw that her mother was out of harm's way, she fired her gun hitting her mark through the heart. Birol jumped back at the impact of the bullet and slumped to the floor. Amanda bent to check for a pulse. When she couldn't find one she rose, took her mother by the arm, and said, "Come on let's get out of here!"

Amanda and Dotty had made it to the front porch when the group of Agency vehicles arrived. As agents started pouring out of the cars; Billy barked out orders. He finally saw Amanda and Dotty on the porch and headed their way. Amanda helped her mother down the steps to meet him.

"We got a call from one of your sons!"

Amanda sighed and replied, "It's all over, Sir!"

Francine, who had gone into the house, came back out and announced, "It's Birol, Billy, and he's dead; a single gunshot through the heart!"

Billy looked at Amanda in admiration and suggested, "Why don't we get you two over here to the medics!"

Amanda helped her mother over to the van and motioned for her to sit. Amanda looked at Billy, 'She's in shock!" and Amanda proceeded to explain what happened.

Slowly Dotty started to come around and started asking about Philip and Jamie. "They called from your neighbor's house, Dotty," Billy replied.

He took Amanda aside and compassionately said, "I'll need all four of your statements, but it can wait until tomorrow. Take your mother and go to your boys. We'll clean things up here!"

"Okay thank you, sir!"

After Amanda and Dotty walked to their neighbors and knocked on the door, Mr. Lee opened it with his shotgun in hand. They could see Philip and Jamie peeking around him and when the boys saw who was on the porch they ran around their friend and into their mother's arms and then they each in turn hugged their grandma tight.

"I'm so sorry, Mom, it's all my fault!" Philip cried.

"Shhhh…no it's not, Philip, trust me when I say that he would have gotten us some way!"

"Would you like to spend the night here?" Mr. Lee offered.

Amanda looked him in the eye and replied, "Thank you that would be appreciated!"

After a while, Amanda was able to get the boys settled down for the night. She was in Mr. Lee's kitchen drinking a cup of coffee when the doorbell rang.

Mr. Lee picked up his shot gun and went to answer the door. Billy was standing on the porch waiting when he heard as the door cracked open, "Who is it?"

"It's Billy Melrose; I need to talk with Amanda Stetson!"

"I don't think she's in any shape to talk with anyone!"

Billy pulled out his badge and thrust it through the opening which caused the door to open wider to allow him entrance.

When Amanda saw Billy she walked over to him, and he started explaining, "It's going to take a few days for your house to get cleaned. Where do you want to go for the night?"

"Mr. Lee invited us here for the night and the boys are already asleep."

"Okay, we can put you back into your Arlington house for a few days if you like. I need you to bring your mother and the boys in tomorrow, so let me know then if you want to go."

"Okay thank you, Sir!" and Billy let himself out the door.

Mr. Lee was left to wonder about this family; maybe they were in protective custody so he turned to Amanda and offered, "You're welcome to stay here until you can go home. It might not be bad for the boys, especially Philip; he's pretty fond of my dog, Ginger."

"Thank you, Mr. Lee, I appreciate your offer. If it's okay with you, we'll decided tomorrow," Amanda said with a smile. She then asked, "Can I use your phone? I probably should call my mother's boyfriend."


	27. Chapter 27

**Chapter 27**

**Wed. Nov. 20, 1987 Ramstein Air Force Base, West Germany**

Lee had been waking up more and more over the last few days. Each time he woke up he seemed a little calmer. The Colonel had hired Rachel to come and set with his nephew. When Lee would start to stir she would run her fingers through his hair and gently say, "Shhhh…" At first Lee thought that Amanda was there, but when he woke this young girl, who seemed familiar was there instead. He was confused and wanted answers, but it was impossible to get any with the tube down his throat.

Today when he woke, the girl, who he thought he was told her name was Rachel, was asleep. Lee feeling more awake this time tried looking around the room; military hospital his mind screamed_. His uncle was there. So was he on his Uncle's base or was the Colonel called? If his uncle was called to be with him then why didn't they call Amanda?_ When his thoughts turned to Amanda he knew he needed to get home. He started pulling on his tube which set buzzers to beeping. This caused Rachel to jump and brought a handful of nurses and the doctor to his room.

After they checked to make sure everything was still hooked up properly, Dr. Emery explained again, "Mr. Stetson this tube needs to stay in so you can breathe! If you try to pull it out again, I'll have to restrain you. Do you understand?"

Lee slowly nodded his head yes and the doctor replied, "Good! I'll do an x-ray tomorrow of your lungs and see if we can get your tube out." Lee nodded his head again in acknowledgement.

After the doctor and nurses left, Lee stared at the ceiling, he had a lot of questions that needed answered.

**Sun. Dec. 1, 1987 Stetson Household**

Amanda was in her and Lee's bedroom looking at her profile in the full length mirror. She ran a hand over her protruding abdomen. She tried calculating how far along she thought she was, _hummm…probably_, she started counting on her fingers, _about eleven weeks_. _Should I be showing this much already_? Out loud she muttered, "I really should make a doctor's appointment!"

Amanda let Lee's shirt fall back over her stomach and went to lie down on their bed. She pulled Lee's pillow to her chest and drank in the faint fragrance of her husband. She sighed and let her mind start wondering.

She and her family had stayed at Mr. Lee's while their house had been cleaned. She had taken her mother and the boys to the Agency to be debriefed. The boys treated the event like a field trip and were extremely excited to visit Leatherneck in his Quartermaster's area. They enjoyed Dr. Pfaff and may have been the first two patients to have actually taken him up on the offer of ice cream. The boys were going to recover quickly, but her mother would probably take longer. She was scheduled for another visit with Dr. Pfaff.

On the Saturday after the Birol incident, Curt had taken her mother out for dinner and she had come home engaged. Curt had realized he could have lost Dotty the other night and he couldn't imagine his life without her. Dotty was thrilled and Amanda was happy for them both.

Her mother and Curt had wanted her to go to Aunt Edna's for Thanksgiving because they didn't want her to be alone, since the boys were going to be with their father's side of the family. Amanda had explained that Billy had invited her to his house. Her mother had been a little hurt that she would choose her boss over family at a holiday. Amanda had sighed and tried to explain that the extended family didn't know the details and it would be easier being around those who did. In the end, she chose to go to her Aunt Edna's for Thanksgiving.

She had been right that it would be hard. There were lots of questions about Lee being missing and that they never realized how dangerous making documentary films were. She remembered her Aunt Lillian saying, "Next time I watch a documentary on PBS, I'll have more appreciation of the dangers they are put into while making those films." She was asked about a memorial for Lee, to which she reminded people that he was missing, not dead. She remembered hearing her Cousin Lucy saying, "She's still in denial. It's the first step in the grief process, but of course it's harder with no body." Amanda remembered staying away from Lucy the rest of the day.

The hardest part came when the family started talking about Karbala and the death of their leader, Birol. The news had reported that he had broken into a Federal Agent's home and captured their mother and the agent had killed him by a single gunshot wound through the heart. The news also stated that various authorities had been able to capture most of the Karbala cells throughout the world. When her cousins started speculating on the current and top news story, Amanda had excused herself to take a walk.

Her aunt and uncle had a beautiful farm. She remembered loving to come here when she was a little girl. She walked over to the corral to watch the horses. It was while she was watching the horses that she sensed someone watching from the barn. She moved slightly enough to see Curt, waited a few minutes, and said loud enough for him to hear, "They're beautiful animals aren't they." She could hear him approaching closer and continued, "Maybe next week I'll see about buying a couple. Lee really wanted horses, but I kept telling him that I'm allergic. He would just laugh and say, 'Amanda that's why they make allergy pills! They'll be good for the boys!" She remembered sighing and continued, "Yeah, maybe I'll get some to have for when he comes home!" here she stopped as the chinks in her armor started to weaken and tears started to fall.

Curt had moved closer to her and put his arm around her, "You're a strong woman Amanda!"

She remembered laughing and saying, "I don't feel very strong at the moment. Actually I feel scared, my husband's missing and I'm carrying his child…I feel all alone!"

"I'm going to be your stepfather, Amanda, and I don't want to replace your dad; but I'm here for you too!"

She turned into his embrace and sobbed, "I miss him so much it hurts!" he didn't say anything but let her cry. This act on his part was the start of a special relationship with her soon to be stepfather.

She had to work the Friday after Thanksgiving and she took the opportunity to approach Billy with the prospect of working from home on Tuesdays and Thursdays. He had told her he would talk with Dr. Symth about it. She had also looked into buying a couple of horses.

Yesterday, Mr. Lee came to ask if he could give one of his pups to the boys. She had smiled and told him that would be very nice. He had gone on to whisper that he wouldn't tell anyone about her being a Federal Agent. She had smiled again and whispered back that she appreciated it.

Amanda hugged Lee's pillow tighter remembering how she told the boys that she was going to have a baby. At first, they sat in shocked silence and then in turn they hugged her and tried to say comforting things. Finally, when the last of the memories from the last few weeks faded, Amanda slowly started to drift off to sleep.

**Sun. Dec. 1, 1987 Ramstein Air Force Base, West Germany**

Lee was getting ready for another chest x-ray as the one last Wednesday showed his lungs weren't healed enough to remove the breathing tube. He hoped this x-ray showed that this blasted tube could be removed because he needed his questions answered.

They wheeled the portable x-ray machine over to his bed and proceeded to start the procedures. Finally, with the ordeal over he laid back on the bed exhausted. The doctor looked over the x-rays and announced, "Mr. Stetson, the pneumonia looks mostly cleared up and the punctured lung looks to be healing nicely, so let's take this tube out!" Dr. Emery and the nurse set about removing the feeding and breathing tubes.

As soon as they came out, Lee tried to talk but no sound came forth. "It will be a little while for your voice to come back; maybe by this afternoon'" the doctor explained to Lee. Turning to the nurse he said, "How about some ice chips and broth for our patient."

Lee sighed not liking what he was hearing. He was not a patient man and hated hospitals, he had questions and most of all he missed his wife. He slowly closed his eyes thinking of Amanda.

Later that afternoon Colonel Clayton arrived with Levi, Rachel's father. Lee vaguely remembered the old man. Levi handed a note to Lee, who had trouble opening it since his left arm was still in a sling. Finally, he got it open and read the message:

Saw Wicked Witch

Dorothy waits in Kansas

Lee croaked out, "Amanda," he wanted to say more but his throat was too sore. He started to get out of bed and his eyes were darting from corner to corner looking for his clothes. Frantically looking around he said, "Clothes."

Colonel Clayton said, "You're not going anywhere, Son," as he gently put a hand on Lee to push him back onto the bed. He then asked, "Was Amanda with you?"

Lee shook his head no and was able to croak, "Home," and he tried to stand, but quickly started to collapse beside his bed.

"Amanda's at home?" the Colonel asked as he grabbed for his nephew to keep him from falling and Lee nodded yes to this question.

"Who's with you? Were you undercover?" the Colonel asked as he helped Lee back onto the bed and Lee shook his head no.

"No one's with you? Then why the wedding ring?"

Lee looked at his uncle and knew that he was in for a shock, "Married, Amanda!"

A stunned Colonel Robert Clayton looked at Lee for a moment and then gave him a soft smile, patted his arm, and replied, "Wise choice, Son! Get some rest!"

Lee grabbed his uncle's arm with his good hand, gave him a pleading look, and croaked out even though it hurt, "He's after Amanda!"

The Colonel narrowed his eyes to try to understand and questioned, "Who did this to you is after Amanda?"

Lee nodded his head emphatically and tried again to get up, "I've got to go…"

The Colonel pushed Lee back down and exclaimed, "You are in no shape to go. Let me see what I can find out!"

**Fri. Dec. 20, 1987 Stetson Household**

Amanda was in the kitchen helping her mother do some cooking and baking in spite of the roll of her stomach. Curt's son, Jason, daughter in law, Celeste, and granddaughter, Hannah, was coming for supper. Her mother was excitedly telling Amanda about the people who would be joining the family soon.

Her mother wasn't pleased that the Christmas tree or decorations hadn't been put up, but she just didn't feel like all the hoopla this year. She had agreed to this small dinner to meet her future stepbrother and family.

The past few weeks had passed in a blur. Dr. Symth had agreed to her new work schedule and so far things seemed to be working well. Micah and Jamison were two great guys to work with. They had been able to bust up the Russian dancing spy ring with relative ease. Hopefully, it looked like it would be a quiet Christmas, but a lot could change in five days. The horses had also arrived and the boys loved learning how to care for them.

Philip and Jamie would be arriving home soon from their last day of school before Christmas break. They would spend Christmas Eve with their father's family and be home late that night. Christmas day they were going to Curt's house for lunch. She had gotten some gifts for the boys, her mother, and she had found something special for Curt. Even though she knew it was silly; she just couldn't stop herself and she had gotten something for Lee.

Amanda glanced at the clock; three o'clock, the boys would be home soon and then two more hours and their guests would arrive. _Stop day dreaming, Amanda!_ She silently told herself and tried to focus on the job at hand as her mother continued to ramble.

**Same Day Andrews Air Force Base, MD**

Lee didn't know why he was extremely nervous as they approached the landing strip of Andrews Airforce Base. His uncle was personally bringing him home. Lee thought back over the last few weeks of his recovery. His uncle had spent as much time as he could with him and they had really talked. Lee couldn't believe that after all these years he and his uncle were working on having a close relationship. His uncle asked if he could call Lee; Son, and asked Lee to call him Uncle, Bob, or Uncle Bob; anything other than Sir or Colonel. It was hard to change after all these years, but they were trying. He knew Amanda would be happy for him.

His Uncle Bob had been able to get most of the story of what had happened, but he wasn't able to get any information state side. He felt for Lee's protection they needed to stay quiet about his where about. Lee hadn't been thrilled with the decision because he didn't want Amanda to worry, and in turn he was worried about Amanda's safety. Yesterday was the first clearance the doctor would give for flying home because he was afraid of what the altitude would do to his healing lungs.

His Uncle Bob had radioed into the base an hour ago asking them to notify the Agency that he had a gift for them. He hoped Amanda was at the base; boy had he missed her!

Once they landed, it seemed to take forever for them to disembark because Lee's left arm was still in a sling, over exertion could send him into a coughing fit, and his leg still wasn't completely healed. After finally debarking, Lee glanced around looking for Amanda, but he only saw Billy.

Billy approached Lee and drew him into a bear hug, "Scarecrow, man am I glad to see you! I didn't know who the airforce had, but I was hoping it was you!" He turned to Lee's uncle and added, "Colonel, we are indebted to you! I'm interested to know how you are involved…"

Lee cut Billy off with, "Where's Amanda. I had hoped she would be here!"

Billy cleared his throat and rubbed a hand over his face, "What is it Billy? Is Amanda okay? Dotty? The boys?" Lee asked in anguish.

"Amanda's fine, Lee!" with these words spoken Lee physically sighed with relief. Billy continued, "But, she's been through a lot and I didn't want to get her hopes up and…"

"I understand. I can imagine how worried she's been."

Billy looked at Lee wondering how much he should share or should he let Amanda explain. In the end, he decided to prepare Lee for what he would be facing at home. He quietly said, "Amanda killed Birol!"

"What?" Lee exclaimed with wide eyes.

"Birol was waiting for your family in the house. Philip blames himself because he forgot to set the alarm. Anyways, Birol got a hold of Dotty. Amanda told the boys to run so they were out of harm's way and didn't see any of it," Lee closed his eyes in relief even though the bile was rising in his throat. Billy continued after giving Lee a moment to process the story so far, "Dotty was able to distract Birol by stabbing him and got away while Amanda shot him through the heart." Lee looked at Billy stunned. "I just wanted to prepare you for what's at home."

"Thanks, Billy!" Lee said with regret.

Colonel Clayton pulled into the winding drive and made his way past the barn to the front of the house. By now it was dark, but with the security light the beauty of Lee and Amanda's home could be seen. Colonel Clayton spoke trying to put his nephew at ease, "You have a nice place here, Son!"

"Thank you; hopefully I can show you around. Looks like a party," Lee commented when he saw the extra cars in the drive.

The Colonel parked the car and said, "Wait and I'll help you out of the car." Lee hated having to be waited on, but knew that he still needed lots of help so he stayed in the car. The Colonel came around, opened the door and after Lee had gotten his legs out of the car, he helped him to stand. The Colonel reached into the car and got Lee's cane for him. The Colonel walked along side of his nephew as he limped to the porch and helped him maneuver the steps, which were tricky with his injures. They finally made it to the top and took a moment for Lee to catch his breath and to stop coughing, which the climbing had brought on. Once he had composed himself they moved to the door to ring the bell.

Inside the house the two families were getting acquainted. Amanda thought Curt's son and family were really nice and seemed to welcome her mother readily. Amanda was in the kitchen when Celeste came in and asked, "Can I help with anything?"

"You can check the potatoes in the oven," Amanda replied as she got some dishes out of the fridge and took them into the dining room. When she came back into the Kitchen, Celeste said as she shut the oven door, "They seem to be done. I looked at the pictures Jamie took of your husband. He did a great job and your husband is very handsome. I'm sorry to hear about him being missing. Curt wanted us to know before we came and I just wanted you to know that it makes me sad for you and your family."

Amanda smiled a soft smile, "Thank you. Your thoughtfulness means a lot. Did Curt tell you that I'm expecting?"

"No! I never would have guessed it. How far along?"

"I think close to about fourteen weeks, but I haven't taken the time to go to the doctor. You probably can't tell because I'm hiding my stomach with my husband's shirt and pants," Amanda explained. She was about ready to take more food to the table when she heard the doorbell ring. She sighed and said, "I wonder who that could be?" She thought to herself,_ I hope it's not work!_ She'd let her mother worry about the door while she worried about dinner.

Dotty opened the door to find her son in law on the porch with whom she presumed was a military escort. She stood stunned with wide eyes for a moment before she exclaimed, "Lee! Son, oh my gosh…get in here!" and she helped him in the door. Before everyone could start talking, Lee put a finger to his lips to motion for everyone to keep quiet and whispered to Dotty, "Call Amanda!"

Dotty smiled happily and called out, "Amanda, it's for you!"

Everyone could hear a flustered Amanda muttering as she came near the room, "If it is work…I told them I needed…" she abruptly stopped her tirade when she saw her husband standing in front of her. In spite of him leaning on a cane, his arm in a sling, and a full beard on his face; he looked handsome!

While Amanda was taking in the sight of him, Lee was drinking in the sight of his wife. Her face was flushed from being in the kitchen, her hair was pulled back from her face and neck, she was dressed in his shirt and pants, and she looked beautiful!

While everyone was dead silent watching the scene in front of them, it was Lee who broke the silence first, "You look..." he stopped and swallowed the emotion he felt, "Beautiful, Amanda!"

"Lee!" She said with emotion in her voice and tears threatening to fall, "Is it really you?"

"It's really me, Amanda!"

That's all she needed before she was in his arms knocking the cane from his hand and both of them sharing a passionate kiss. It was a good thing that he had not been standing too far from the wall because now they were using it to support both of them. Lee had his good hand cradling Amanda's cheek, and as he pulled out of the kiss he said, "Uh...um...Amanda!"

"Oh, I'm sorry Lee. Here you are injured; I plow into you and knock the cane out of your hand. Here let me..."

While Lee stopped her rambling by grabbing her arm, he thought, _boy her rambling is like music, _but to her he said as he reached out his hand to touch her abdomen, "No, I...umm..."

She straightened up and said with a big smile, "Welcome home daddy!"

It took a moment for what she said to register and then he said, "Daddy! I think I need to sit down!"

As Lee's knees began to buckle the Colonel grabbed him and said, "Here let me help you, Son!" Dotty reached to pick up his cane as Curt got on the other side of him. The two men helped to escort him to the couch as Philip and Jamie started talking at once and everyone followed to the living room. Dinner was currently forgotten as everyone was excited about the arrival of Lee.

Dotty and Ruth slipped into the kitchen to reheat some of the food and to finish setting things out. As she rearranged the chairs to add two more places, Dotty said, "I can't believe this; he's home! I was really worried about Amanda. She works around the clock between her job, the boys' activities, and being involved at their school. To top it off she has been so sick, but hopefully with the stress of Lee being missing gone, she'll feel better now. Makes me worry about the baby!" Ruth just smiled at her stepmother in law to be as she talked non-stop.

Soon everyone was crowding around the table as Lee remembered his manners. Standing by his chair he said, "I'm sorry everyone, but I haven't introduced my uncle to you; this is Colonel Robert Clayton of the United States Airforce." Looking at his uncle Lee continued, "He raised me from the time I was five and I have given him a lot of grief. Fortunately for me, I ended up on his base two months ago for treatment and I am lucky to have an uncle like him!"

Amanda walked over to the Colonel and gave him a kiss on the cheek, "Thank you, Sir, for taking such good care of him!"

Colonel Clayton took her by the hand and replied, "Drop the sirs, Amanda, call me Bob, Robert, or Uncle; anything but sir or Colonel!"

Amanda kissed him again and gave him a soft smile. Finally after everyone was seated and had started eating, Philip asked out of curiosity, "How did you end up on Uncle Bob's base?"

"Well…" Lee started and sighed trying to figure out what to say for their guests, "A rebel injured me and left me for dead, but fortunately for me a farmer and his daughter found me and took me home. Rachel doctored on me until my injuries got too bad for her knowledge; by now I was unconscious…"

Amanda, who could feel the wave of her stomach, excused herself, and hurried from the room.

Lee looked at Amanda's retreating form with concern and said in confusion, "Amanda!?"

"Oh that's too bad; I really thought she would be feeling better with the start of the second trimester," Dotty said with compassion.

"I was sick with Hannah, but I didn't have it this long?" Ruth added.

Lee understanding from the conversation that his wife's sickness had to do with the baby, asked with concern, "Is Amanda okay?"

"Man Lee, don't worry about it! You haven't missed much the past few months, only mom puking her guts up!" Philip commented.

Lee worked his way up out of his chair and as he left the room he could hear Dotty admonishing Philip, "You don't talk like that at the dinner table!"

Lee laboriously made his way to the downstairs bathroom and stopped at the closed door. He lightly tapped on the door and called in concern, "Amanda, are you okay?" He could hear the toilet flush and then running water. Finally, the door opened and Amanda stepped through.

Amanda saw the concern on her husband's face and quickly explained, "I'm okay. It's only morning sickness!"

"What does the doctor say?"

Amanda looked down and softly replied, "I haven't gone to the doctor yet. I guess I haven't had the time."

Lee raised her chin so he could look into her eyes, "I'm sorry Amanda. I leave you to deal with all of this. Billy told me what happened…you shooting Birol…I know you and even though it was him, I know it's hard taking a life for the first time…"

"Well it's over with, we survived, and you're home. That's all I care about! She smiled bravely.

"I'm not really hungry. Would you want to go sit on the couch?" Lee asked his wife.

"Sitting on the couch sounds wonderful!"

They made their way to the couch. Lee sat on the far end and then he motioned for Amanda to lie down and put her head in his lap. He gently started playing with her hair. "I missed you, Amanda!" he said lovingly looking down into her face.

She looked up into her husband's handsome face and replied, "I love you too, Lee!"

The two remained in companionable silence until Dotty announced, "Tomorrow, I say we get a tree to decorate!"

She was greeted with shouts of excitement from the boys.

The next morning, Dotty found a place nearby where they could cut their own tree, and she asked Curt if he would take her since he had a truck. He and his son's family showed up in the afternoon to go tree hunting with Dotty and the boys.

"Where's Lee, Amanda, and Bob?" Jason asked.

"Oh they had to go to work," Dotty said nonchalantly because she was used to their crazy work schedule.

"But, Lee and his uncle just returned to the States after being gone for months and Lee is extremely hurt and still recovering," Celeste added.

"Honey, Bob, is military and I don't think they care if he's been out of the country because that's his job," John tried to explain what he thought was reasonable.

"The Colonel has to report on having Lee in his care the last three months, and Amanda took Lee to report on his injures and how he ended up with the Airforce. They should be back in a little while," Curt found himself trying to save Dotty an explanation.

"Will Lee have to meet with Dr. Pfaff?" Philip questioned innocently.

"Probably not if it seems he's handled the situation okay," Dotty absentmindedly told Philip.

"I would go all the time if he gave you ice cream!" Jamie added with a smile.

"I still think he's an odd man, but then anyone who messes around with people's heads…" Dotty trailed off remembering who was present. She then quickly added, "Come on let's go get that tree!"

Celeste and Jason gave each other odd looks at the conversation and Celeste whispered to Jason, "Okay, I can see the Colonel having to go to work, but I still think it's odd that Lee has to go into work! I wouldn't want to work for the government's film department if they treated me like that!" Jason gave his wife a small smile and patted his wife on the arm.

"Okay kids, you're with us. Dad and Dotty we'll follow you!" Jason stated and they all started piling into the vehicles.

Later that night after supper, while the families decorated the tree, Amanda had comfortably sat with Lee watching. They were all sitting back on the couch admiring their handy work, "It's beautiful! You guys did a great job!" Amanda said as she tousled the boys' hair.

"We each got to take a swing with the ax and Hannah's swing was the one which knocked it down." Jamie added with admiration in his voice.

"That a girl!" Lee said to Hannah and held up his good hand for a high five. He was rewarded with a hard slap and a smile.

"Oh I almost forgot; I've got something for you Lee!" Dotty said as she rushed from the room.

"Me?" Lee questioned as he looked at Amanda, who raised her eyebrows and shrugged her shoulders.

Dotty quickly returned and stated, "Here open it!" as she handed Lee a small present wrapped in blue and silver paper with a miniature silver bow on top.

He took it self-consciously as every eye was on him. He looked at Amanda, who was smiling with curiosity written on her face, to Dotty, who also was wearing a smile that was full of love, "Go on open it!" His mother in law prompted.

Lee tore off the bow and the paper and opened the box. He paused a moment as he saw what was in it, and then he took out a small likeness of his corvette with a string attached. He couldn't help smile at the ornament in his hand.

"We each have a special ornament for the tree, Lee. Grandma found this about a month ago and got it for when you returned," Jamie explained.

Lee looked up into Dotty's face and felt a lump in his throat, "I don't know…it's beautiful…I've never had a tree…" he stammered and then he asked, "Amanda will you help me up?" Lee's Uncle Bob, who was truly happy for his nephew as he now had a loving family, quickly rushed to his side to help Amanda. Once he was steady on his feet, Lee with his good arm pulled Dotty into an embrace and lovingly said, "Thanks Mom, I love it. Now, where should I hang it?" he asked as he looked at the tree.

"There's a spot right here!" Dotty pointed out and Lee placed the ornament on the tree.

**Christmas Eve Stetson Household**

Philip found himself awake early this morning. In a couple of hours his dad would be picking him and Jamie up to go to Pennsylvania to his grandparents for the day. He laid in bed thinking about the left over chocolate cake in the kitchen. He looked at the clock, six-thirty, his mom should still be sleeping and his grandma was back in her apartment now; so maybe he could sneak in a piece. He quickly and quietly slipped out of bed and cautiously crept out into the hall and down the stairs. As he came to the bottom of the stairs, he saw Lee sitting on the couch mesmerized by the fire.

Philip slipped into the kitchen and saw coffee was made so he poured some for Lee. He checked in the fridge and saw that his grandma had gotten some half and half, so he poured a generous amount into the coffee. He cut two huge slices of cake and poured himself a glass of milk. He set it all on a tray and headed to the living room.

He walked into the living room and cleared his throat, and as Lee turned toward the sound Philip explained, "I brought you some coffee and chocolate cake."

Lee smiled appreciatively and replied, "Thanks Philip," as he took the proffered items.

Philip came and sat on the couch next to Lee and they ate in companionable silence. After they had finished eating, Philip sighed and turned to his stepfather, "I guess you heard about what happened with Birol. It was all my fault because I forgot to set the alarm, I'm sorry!" Philip hung his head in shame.

Lee reached over and lifted Philip's chin, "Trust me, Philip, when I say Birol would have found a way in. He was a very bad man!" Philip looked at Lee not sure if he really should forgive himself. Lee cleared his throat and continued, "Listen, Philip, I should ask you to forgive me!"

"Forgive you! You didn't do anything wrong!"

Lee swallowed hard, "Yeah, well," and he slowly exhaled a sigh, but quickly plunged on, "Your mom asked me if I was doing this as part of a personal vendetta, and in honesty I wanted to make Birol pay for some things he had done to your mom. So even though technically I was ordered to go, I didn't fight the assignment because I really wanted to go and here I left you all in danger!"

Philip looked at Lee for a moment and leaned in to hug his stepdad as he said, "I'm glad you're back! I really missed you!"

"I'm glad to be back home too! I really missed you guys also!

Later that afternoon, Curt and his family were back over for supper even though they were all getting together at Curt's for Christmas Day. The two families were having a wonderful time getting to know each other and Celeste explained, "We don't want Lee having to leave home a lot since he just returned." Hannah was beating the socks off of Lee at Scrabble, whom Amanda noted was as bad as her mother for making up words. Amanda had chuckled at Lee's frustration, when the twelve year old would look up his words in the dictionary to prove that they didn't exist. Amanda was comfortably snuggled up close to her husband half asleep because her mother and Celeste had kicked her out of the kitchen. Celeste had shooed her out by saying, "I remember how tiring it was being pregnant. Now go rest and enjoy your husband." Amanda thought that Celeste was the sweetest and most caring person. She was sad to think that their family lived so far away. Uncle Bob had to report to Andrews for work while he was in the States, but he had already arrived for supper and would be there for Christmas Day. Lee's uncle was enjoying the heated and animated Scrabble game, which was unfolding in the living room. Although they were a little more subdued in their antics, Curt and Jason were enjoying a game of Gin Rummy.

The ringing doorbell could barely be heard over the noise of the boisterous Scrabble game. Dotty excused herself from the kitchen to answer the door. She opened it and a courier was on the front porch, "I have a delivery from the White House for Mr. and Mrs. Stetson."

"They live here; I'm Mrs. Stetson's mother."

"I need you to sign on this line, ma'am."

Dotty signed for the package, thanked and wished the courier a Merry Christmas, and took the box into the living room. "It's for you two from the White House," Dotty explained as she handed the package to Lee and Amanda, while everyone stopped their activities to watch.

Amanda and Lee looked at each other and shrugged. Amanda opened the card and read: "Glad to have my best team back together. Congratulations on expecting a little one, The President."

"It's from the President!" Celeste stated in awe wondering about the couple in whose home she was in.

Lee quickly opened the package and extracted a bottle of sparkling cider. In a disappointed voice he said, "Cider?" then after seeing a label he added in excitement, "Oh look it has you name on it, Amanda!" He quickly handed the bottle to his wife and then drew out the second bottle and got a huge smile, 'Oh an '83 bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon! That was a good year!"

"This is cause for a celebration; I'll get the glasses!" Dotty exclaimed as she hurried back to the kitchen.

As they all set around the living room enjoying the gift from the President, Lee put his good arm around his wife and pulled her closer. He intimately whispered in her ear, "I think I can get use to normal!"

Amanda looked up into her husband's face and whispered back, "Merry Christmas!"

Lee bent to capture his wife's lips. As they deepened the kiss, they became oblivious to the activity around them because they were lost in their own little world.


	28. Chapter 28

**Epilogue**

**Wed. Jan. 8, 1988**

Lee and Amanda were enjoying lunch together before they went to Amanda's first doctor's appointment. The last two weeks had been wonderful for Lee as Amanda had been off from work and he was still recovering at home. They had talked a lot about what had happened over the last three months. He thought to himself, _If Amanda had her way she would fly to Germany and personally think Levi and Rachel._ She had written a thank you letter and sent it with his uncle to deliver. Amanda would return to work on Monday and Lee would return part time by working from home the following week. He couldn't come back to the Agency until he could maneuver the steps to the Q-Bureau, and that would probably be the week after next when he would most likely be able to walk without a cane.

Lee looked at Amanda and thought, not for the first time, how glad he was that she was out of the field. Most likely she would only be out occasionally as back up. Lee started to speak his thoughts out loud, "I don't know, Amanda, I've been thinking…" he paused, not sure he really wanted to voice his thoughts, but he plunged on, "There's an opening over at State. It would be nine to five, no weekends, and more money."

Amanda looked at her husband and said, "I thought we would be directing the Q-Bureau together!"

"You're the one who's always been good with the research. Now you have McMillan and Douglas, so there's not much for me to do."

"But, we work best as a team; what one of us doesn't see the other one does."

Lee reached over and took Amanda's hand, looked deep into her eyes and softly replied; "I've just been thinking that's all…" he trailed off as he rubbed his thumb over the back of her hand. Swallowing, he continued his train of thought, "I really don't want either one of us in the field anymore…"

Amanda sighed, licked her lips, and cut in with her reply, "Listen, Lee, why don't you wait a few months to a half a year before you decide anything. If you give the new arrangements in the Q-Bureau time maybe you'll find you like it. We'll mostly be out of the field any ways. Maybe we can keep the arrangement I have of working from home on Tuesdays and Thursdays. After the given time, it you don't like it then the next time an opening comes up at State go for it!"

Lee softly and lovingly smiled at his wife, "Okay, Mrs. Stetson, I'll wait at least six months before I decide anything!"

Amanda smiled backed, "Sounds like a plan, Mr. Stetson."

Amanda and Lee were in the doctor's office waiting for Dr. Delong to come in. "I don't know why I'm so nervous. I've had two babies before, but I'm older and I feel like I'm bigger with this one than I was with Philip or Jamie," Amanda said.

"I don't know you look beautiful to me," Lee said with a mischievous smile. Amanda just gave him a smirk in response.

Finally, the door opened and a petite woman with blond hair and bright blue eyes entered, "Good afternoon, Mr. and Mrs. Stetson. I'm Dr. Delong," she replied as she sat on a stool. She proceeded to work her way through various questions and forms. "Now, Mrs. Stetson, if you would lie back on the bed we'll see how much you measure. According to the date of your last period you should be about sixteen weeks." The doctor pulled out the measuring tape and laid it on Amanda's abdomen and said, "Hummm…that's interesting."

"Is everything, okay?" both Lee and Amanda asked together as they grabbed each other's hand.

"Oh just measuring a little bigger than I would have thought. Let's take a listen," Dr. Delong added as she squirted gel onto Amanda's abdomen. She turned the dobblar on and placed it in the gel and started moving it around. A fast little "lub-lub" came through the speaker. "Sounds nice and strong…huh…what's?" and Dr. Delong moved the dobblar around a little and again a fast "lub-lub" could be heard.

Dr. Delong turned the stethoscope off and said, "I think I want to get an ultrasound."

"Is everything okay with the baby?" Amanda anxiously asked because she had read about this type of x-ray in a parenting magazine, but she had never had one with Philip or Jamie.

"I just want to see if we can get an accurate due date since it's the second trimester and I'm seeing you for the first time. It won't take long and we have one here in our office so if you'll follow me down the hall," Dr. Delong explained as she handed a modesty robe for Amanda to put over her gown. Numbly Amanda put the robe on and Lee grabbed her hand as they followed the doctor down the hall.

Walking into the room Dr. Delong turned the light on and said, "Amanda you can lie down on the bed and Lee you can sit in that chair beside the bed."

The couple did as they were instructed and then immediately clasped hands again. Both set of eyes were glued to the monitor. "This is new. I never had anything like this with Philip or Jamie," Amanda said in a tremulous voice.

"This will allow us to see the baby and get some measurements." The doctor explained as she again squirted gel on Amanda's abdomen and started moving the wand over it. Dr. Delong said, "Okay there we go…"

"Oh look there's a little hand," Amanda excitedly exclaimed.

"Now I see why…" Dr. Delong started.

Amanda cut her off by adding, "Is that what I think…" as she turned to look at her husband.

Lee looked from the monitor to down into his wife's face and smiled an enormous smile, shook his head and chuckled, "Well, Mrs. Stetson, I see that keeping with our tradition; having a baby isn't going to be a simple task."


End file.
